Unwilling Challanger
by Zerowing21
Summary: In an effort to destroy Holden, Tessa has challenged Holden to a no hold bars fight, giving him only 3 months to train. Will Holden be able to overcome his fears, learn to use his powers and learn new ways to fight Tessa with the aid of others? AU
1. Chapter 1: Dreaming and Scheming

Well here it is everyone, the sequel to Unintended Hero.

As stated before in previous fics I own nothing, but my OCs

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Dreaming and Scheming<strong>

The mid-October sun beats down upon Pokey Oaks, as crisp autumn leaves fall to the ground, littering the streets and lawns. A young man with fuchsia hair by the name of Holden Wren walks down the street with a rather glum expression plastered on his face.

Holden had just come back from the bruisers' office of Townsville University, only to find out that his application to the school had been rejected. He had left the college feeling heavy hearted and dejected.

No college would accept him and the main reason for this was due to his psychopath sister Tessa, who was owner of the genetics company, Exervent. Holden turns the corner and walks down the street, sighing heavily.

Feelings of depression had been building up inside of the young man for a fortnight, since companies wouldn't hire him because of the fear of Tessa's reprisal and this had been the reason to why colleges wouldn't accept him. As the familiar sight of the Utonium house beings to loom on the horizon, Holden mouth falls open.

Many of the windows are smashed, a corner of the roof is missing and small whiffs of smoke rise from the backyard. Without thinking, Holden ascends into the air and flies in an uncontrollable pattern towards his home, crashing face first into the lawn.

The young man pushes himself off the ground, shaking his head to regain his bearings, "I should have taken Bubbles up on those flying lessons."

Holden spins around to look at the house, marches to what is left of the front door, tossing it aside onto the front lawn like it was a baseball. The inside of the house is dimly lit, while quick sparks of light come from the broken fixtures on the second floor.

Holden quickly makes his way into the den, only to find someone with a white coat in the middle of the floor.

His eyes open wide with fear and Holden runs to the person, bending down and shaking them, "PROFESSOR! GET UP! PLEASE GET UP!"

Tears form in his eyes as the young man checks his godfather's pulse, only to find there wasn't one. Holden rolls the Professor onto his back, only to find his eyes open.

A few tears fall onto the Professor's face as Holden weeps, "I should have gotten here sooner. I'm sorry Professor."

He slowly closes Professor Utonium's eyes, before noticing a large bruise on his neck. Holden wipes some tears away, before quietly asking, "Who…Who did this to you Professor? I'll try to find who did this, with the help of the girls."

As Holden stands up, a loud, evil feminine laugh echoes from the direction of the kitchen and leaning on the doorframe to said room is a cyan haired female with a twist grin on her face.

She saunters sexily into the room, brushing some hair away from her face, maliciously mocking, "Awww did the poor imperfection lose something important. Does it want back the one of the few people that gives it false love?"

The young man grits his teeth and angrily spits, "You took away the only true parent that I have ever known. The Professor was innocent in all this Tessa! You killed him for no reason!"

Tessa sneers and walks closer, kicking the TV set out of the house as she gets closer, "I killed him for the reason of seeing you suffer at losing those you love. It's just like how you made me suffer when I had to kill our parents because of that imperfect taint you inflicted upon them!"

In Tessa's hand a small teal glow begins to form. Holden immediately shoves his hand into his pocket, pressing a small button on his nancom to call a nano to his side. No nano appeared, and this is when Holden remembers the nanos died fighting Fuse, causing him to groan at his mistake.

Tessa's grin widens, releasing the beam of pure energy from her palm straight at Holden. Unable to react in time, the beam connects with Holden's chest, catapulting him through a wall that leads down into the Professor's lab and into a small workstation. Holden grunts in pain and his left arm flaps useless by his side as he glides into the air.

Just from the angle of it, Holden can tell his arm is broken and there is a tickle of blood flowing from it. Tessa floats through the gaping hole and titters at the pain she has caused. Holden's eyes angrily light up and he fires his indigo eye beams twice at Tessa.

The first shot goes wild, hitting a drum of Chemical X; which leaks onto the floor, while the second beam is aimed true at Tessa. Tessa yawns, firing her own eyebeams at the incoming attack, cancelling it out.

She smiles and shakes her head, quipping, "So pitiful and weak. It's a wonder how you survived all this time! That shall be remedied soon enough. I shall make you suffering short, but sweet!"

Tessa licks her lips, before spiting several large balls of electrical energy in a spread pattern towards the young man. Holden tries to avoid the spit, but to no avail. Two wads of energy collide with him, causing him to fall to the floor. His legs and arms twitch furiously, while Holden starts to lose feeling in his lower body and extremities.

Tessa zooms over to her hated sibling, looks down at him with a smile, and kicks his thighs with the point of her high heel, shattering both of his legs with ease. With a look of pure malice in her eyes, Tessa bends down and punches Holden in the face, breaking his nose and giving him black eyes.

Copious amounts of blood begin to flow as Holden screams in pain and Tessa picks Holden up by the collar.

She smiles while gleefully announcing, "I think it's time to end this. I want to see those you love suffer at your lose and to remind them that they cannot beat me!"

She brings her fist back and then brings it forwards towards his heart. Before her fist reaches Holden's chest, everything begins to fade and turns white.

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><p>Holden's eyes snap open, instantaneously sitting upright in his bed, while clutching the side supports of his bed, crushing them. He is sweating profusely and he looks at the clock to see it wasn't even two in the morning. The bed creaks under the lack of the lack of the supports and it crashes to the floor.<p>

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Holden scrunches up his eyes, brings his legs close to his body and begins crying softly due to the bad dream. Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and fear flood his mind as he sniffles and whimpers. The last two months since Buttercup's wedding had been a horrible time for Holden.

He had been having the same nightmare for the several weeks and with each passing occurrence of it, his feelings of despair grew worse and so did the feeling of being weak. The control over the powers he had, albeit it being small, suffered because of these nightmares. He kept firing his eye beams off at random times while doing work around the house, destroying books and other items.

It was also true that Holden couldn't get a normal job nor get into college because of Tessa's influence and threats. The only job offers the young man had gotten lately were from Providence and the Plumbers, but he didn't want to be under White Knight's thumb and he really didn't want to go off planet to stop threats to Earth.

The only thing the young man really wanted is a normal life, but because of Tessa, that would never happen. Tears keep flowing down Holden's face as his thoughts move to his nanos.

Holden realizes that he relied on them heavily to fight the war and to fight Tessa and that they were the only real defense he had against her, but now that they were gone, he is an open target. Holden grabs a tissue to blow his nose and shakily stands up.

"I need some ice cream."

He opens his door and slowly walks down to the kitchen to drown his sorrows in food.

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><p>On the other side of Townsville, not too far from Tech Square sat the twenty story headquarters of Exervent. On the ninetieth and twentieth floors is the penthouse, and Tessa sits on a large tan sofa, looking over military contracts, quarterly earns and upcoming projects.<p>

She even has reports on the earnings of Dexlabs, Mandark Industries and the Morbucks Empire. A grin flashes across her face at the how poorly Mandark is doing in sales.

Tessa looks over Mandark's costs and with a frown, quips, "No one wonder that fool is doing so poorly, he is using substandard materials and being cheap as usual. Maybe a hostile takeover is in order."

She throws the file back onto the table and that is when a sharp small yip issues from the pillow beside Tessa. She turns her head to look down at Fear, her pet red fox, who she genetically altered many years ago. Tessa smiles sweetly and gently scratching Fear behind the right ear, which has a black ribbon clip onto it.

Fear slowly raises her head to looks up at Tessa and then licks her hand lovingly.

Tessa picks Fear up and places the fox in her lap and strokes her back, thinking, _now how should I go on about defeating that stupid imperfection and disposing of him once and for all? I would love to destroy him in front of those pathetic girls that love him so much. How do I go about it? _

A frown crosses Tessa's face and looks down at Fear, inquiring, "Fear, do you have any ideas on how to deal with that foolish imperfection, without those stupid Loserpuffs getting involved?"

Fear jumps off Tessa's lap, starts jabbering and a translation appears on Tessa's nancom, "Turn the TV on to the Heroes channel! There is something that I think will give you the perfect idea!"

Tessa scoffs at the idea, but says sourly, "The Heroes Channel? Really? Getting an idea from that is like asking that two bit has been Hector Con Carnie on advice on how to take over the world. No matter just show me Fear."

Fear nods excited and patters up to the TV and smashes the on button. The screen flicks, slowly coming to life and Tessa uses the remote to change to channel 230.

Major Glory appears on the screen and he shouts, "Hey kids, do you like heroes? Do you like heroes fighting crime? If you do, get ready for the AWSM charity fight tomorrow afternoon. You will see all your favorite super heroes, like Super Cow going up against Monkey, as well as myself, Major Glory fighting Big Ben. It's a cannot miss show that will help fund Townsville Children's Hospital."

The commercial end and Fear turns around and jump around happily.

Tessa smile broadly, knowing exactly what Fear had for an idea and praises, "Oh, what a smart fox you are! I will publicly challenge that stupid thing to a fight and it will have no choice, but to accept the challenge."

Fear's tail wags widely at the compliment and she jumps up and down rapidly. Tessa walks over to Fear, places her over her should and cuddle her.

"I will invade that charity fight tomorrow and make my declaration! After that I think deserve a special treat Fear for giving me this idea. This plan to destroy that stupid thing can't fail and I can make it all legal!"

She floats back to the couch, places Fear down on the pillow. Tessa picks up her nancom from the table, and place a call to make the fight she wants between her and Holden legal.

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><p>Well R&amp;R please and say if you like it or if you hate and what I did wrong. I hope to display more of Tessa in this story than I did in UH. I do hope I got the name of Major Glory's group correct.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: AWSM Interrupted

As stated many times before, I do not own any characters here in except for Holden, Tessa and Fear. Well everyone chapter 2 here is so I hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: AWSM Interrupted<strong>

The sound of the doorbell echoes through the halls of the Utonium abode and a blue streak speeds from the laundry room to front door, opening it instantaneously.

"ACE! BUTTERCUP! Are you two here to watch the AWSM charity fight? I can't wait to see Monkey in action. He's such a cute animal superhero! I hope Super Cow doesn't hurt him too badly." Bubbles gushes happily.

Buttercup just rolls her eyes at her younger sister and pushes passed her into the house, commenting nastily, "I don't really care about that lame fight Bubbles. I really want to see Krunk squash that poser guitar player, Val Hallen."

Buttercup looks over her shoulder and sticks her tongue out at the blond haired girl, before chuckling and stepping into the living room.

Ace walks into the house, gives Bubbles a big grin and a hug, "I apologize about Buttercup. She's been moody since Val Hallen tried to upstage us at our concert two weeks ago. She nearly ripped his hair out that night."

Bubbles shakes her head with a frown pursing her lips as she walks to the living while tutting in disappointment, "She should know better than to assault another person."

Ace shakes his head and defensively states, "She didn't really assault him. It was more like kicked him off stage. Val Hallen was rather drunk when he crashed onto the stage with his axe."

Ace moves passed Bubbles and into the living room, sitting next to Buttercup on the couch, who is flipping through the channels to find the fight. A large thudding sound from the landing above causes Bubbles to jerk her head towards the stairs, only to discover, Holden slowly descending from the second floor, lugging the destroyed bed frame.

"Holdie what happened to your bed?" Bubbles worriedly asks her younger brother upon notices how red his eyes are.

Holden looks away from her quickly and with a gulp, lies, "I accidentally crushed the frame when I was trying to lift my bed off the floor."

Without letting Bubbles make a further fuss, Holden shoves past her towards the front door. Knowing something is off, the young blond promptly and silently floats up the stairs to Blossom's room. The sound of the front door opening reaches Bubbles' ears, as well as several loud clangs against its wooden frame.

Bubbles raps softly on her sister's door and after a moments wait, the door knob turns and the door opens with Blossom standing in the door way.

"Hey Bubbles, is the AWSM charity event about to start?"

Shaking her head, Bubbles squeaks sharply, "Blossy, I think something is wrong with Holdie! His bed frame is broken and He didn't make eye contact with me when he said what happened!"

Blossom gingerly rubs her forehead, before heading into her room and sitting on her bed spread. The red head had known for a month about her boyfriend's nightmares and had even been trying to help him overcome them. She had even bought a white noise machine that played soft lapping waves to him sleep, but it didn't seem to work at all.

The young woman knew that the lack of future prospects was gnawing away at Holden and was causing even more issues.

Blossom looks at her younger sister, then down at the floor, before questions softly, "Bubbles did you get a good look at the frame when he was going down the stairs?"

Shutting her eyes and placing her index finger on her lip, Bubbles thinks for a few moments before unequivocally pronouncing, "The sides of the frame where the supports are located were crushed. It didn't even look like the crush marks were from the correct angel to have been created if Holdie was lifting it."

"Bubbles, I'll go talk to Holden to find out what is going on. He won't lie to me at all."

Blossom rises from the bed, gives Bubbles a small hug and proceeds out of her bedroom to find Holden.

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><p>Once outside the house, Holden unceremoniously pitches the remains of his bed onto the side of the curb. The young man stares at it for several minutes, mentally kicking himself for having destroyed it the previous night. A sigh issues from Holden's lips as the dream floods back into his mind.<p>

A handful of tears form in his eyes as he tries to forgot the horrible dream, but is unable to. He fails to notice the front door creaking open slightly and a pink blur of incandescence heading towards him.

As Holden moves away from the trash on the side road, a set of arms with pink nails embrace him, preventing him from being able to budge.

Blossom smiles sweetly as she pokes her head over her boyfriend's left shoulder and whispers softly in his hear, "You shouldn't have lied like that to Bubbles. She's now really worried about you sweetheart. What happened to your bed that would make you lie?"

Blossom loosens her grip around the young man and Holden turns around, only to look at the ground, ashamed of himself, "I had that nightmare again with Tessa killing the Professor and then attacking me. I woke up scared out of my mind and I gripped the sides out of sheer terror."

Blossom leans her body into Holden's, places her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat.

She closes her eyes to listen for a few moments, before candidly replying, "You should have told me right away when this happened. I want to be able to help you thought this, but I can't if you shut me out all the time!"

Knowing Blossom is right, Holden wraps his arms around her shoulders, responding apologetically, "I know I should have informed you Blossom and I'm sorry I didn't tell you at all. I just didn't want to burden you with how angst ridden I am feeling."

The red head stares at him with her bright pink eyes, then afterward bossily snaps, "You are not a burned to me or anyone else! Stop thinking that way! Even if you have a large amount of anxiety, I still love you and I will always be here to support you."

He smiles broadly at her words, then leans forward to kiss her forehead, "I'm grateful to have you by my side when I require moral support the most."

A faint pinkness flushes over Blossom's cheeks as she beams happily at his promise, then interlinks her arm around his and beings tugging him towards the house, "The AWSM charity fight should beginning any moment now and you know Buttercup, she will start an argument over someone interrupting one of the matches, which will exacerbate into a yelling match between the two of us."

Knowing what Blossom said to be true, Holden just nods, while they slowly walk back to the house, whispering to one another. Upon reentering the homestead, the blaring of a commercial for the product, Ali-me is heard in the background and the couple quickly walks to a small sofa to sit down.

Buttercup scowls at them, "Just be glad the show hasn't come on yet. These commercials are boring, especially the ones for Exervent and Mandork Industry products."

The commercials end with a slow fade out to black, before a plethora of brass instruments plays in the background and the logo for the charity event spins onto the screen.

The screen changes and two teens appear and the one in an orange jacket speaks, "Welcome sports fans, to the AWSM Charity Fight in Townsville arena. Today, we will be witnessing history in the making as some of the world's biggest heroes duke it out with each other to raise money for needy kids."

"Right you are Nick. History will be witnessed today when we see Monkey face off against Super Cow. We've seen these two team up against crime before, but for this exhibition, these two wanted to test their mettle against each other to see what they were each made of."

"I couldn't have said it better myself Chip. Super Cow has the tenacity and power of a four Mexican wrestlers. Monkey, on the other hand, can fly; use sonic screeches and has moderate strength. This match could very well go to either of these two heroes."

The screen shifts to a display of the two heroes, along with their potential power.

The boy with the green jacket and glasses looks off camera nods and announces, "We'll be right back folks. It seems we are going to a quick commercial break."

The screen fades to black and using this time, Buttercup stands up to start making popcorn.

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><p>Just outside the Townsville Arena, Fear runs through the parking lot with a small, dark red backpack on her back, heading for the main gate. Tessa is close behind her pet, weaving in between cars and leaving not even a hint of her flying trail.<p>

Spotting a lone security guard by the front gate, Fear takes out a foam stick from the backpack and stealthily sneaks up on the poor soul, jumps into the air, and bonks him on the top of the head. The guard collapses to the ground with his tongue hanging out and his eyes closed.

Tessa chortles at the funny sight and coos, "You've been watching too much _Puppet Pals _haven't you?"

Fear nods happily.

Tessa bends down on one knee to take the keys from the fallen guard and begins laughing, "Oh, this is just too easy. These stupid super zeros won't even know what hit them when I take over their little show."

The teal clad woman saunters to the control box next to the gate, unlocks it and flips the three switches inside. The gate grinds open slowly and once there is enough room, Fear enters the building first, scampering down a side corridor towards the television broadcasting room.

The little fox's job is to disable all personal inside, so Tessa's message couldn't be interrupted. Once the grinding sounds subside, the young woman walks into the building and down the main corridor to the main arena floor.

Halfway to the event floor, Tessa encounters Agent Honeydew, who is watching a monitor that presents the bout between Monkey and Super Cow. Tessa folds her arm, quickly formulating a plan to dispose of Honeydew without causing a ruckus.

Smirking Tessa thinks, _I got the perfect idea and no one will be the wiser about this._

Taking a small breath, Tessa opens her maw, emitting a low level sonic screech in the other woman's direction. Agent Honeydew's complexion turns from white to a sickly green and she skidoos to the nearest bathroom to upchuck.

Shadowing Honeydew, Tessa waits until the agent enters thought a door and the sound of retching reaches the villainess ears, making her grin. Concentrating on the metal frame, Tessa's heat vision leaps forth from her eyes, welding the metal frame to the door.

Sparks jettison from the molten metal out into the air like small fire works as Tessa slowly seals the door. Once she is finish, the evil cooperate mogul rips a pipe from the ceiling and threads it through the door hand and punches the ends of pipe into the wall. Dusting her hands off, Tessa proceeds on her merry way.

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><p>Fear in the meantime, reaches the broadcasting room, cracking open the door. The little fox spies ten people sitting in chairs, talking and waiting to be notified about the next commercial break. Fear slides the bag off her back onto the floor and she begins to rummage around inside.<p>

A pack of gum flies as out, as does a small Taser, a can of beans and a wallet belonging to Eustace Bagge. Fear's tail begins to wag wildly as the little creature pulls out a can of sleeping gas and a fox sized gas mask from her knapsack.

Fear slips the gas mask over her head, making sure it's secured tightly and then tiptoes to the door, opening the canister and rolling it to the far side of the room. One of the people closest to the canister ambles by with a cup of coffee in hand, heading back to their seat, when all of a sudden, their eyes droop and they slowly fall to the floor, spilling the beverage all over the floor.

Two of the workers rise from their chairs to check on their fallen comrade, but soon they fall to the floor with dull thuds as the gas spreads around them. Within minutes, the remaining seven people have their eyes grow heavy and they slip into a deep sleep.

Upon dashing into the room, Fear locks the door, jumps onto nearly a table, picking up the control manual and flips through a few pages. After several minutes of study, Fear lays the book down, jumps into an empty chair and places a set of headphones onto her head to listen to the floor crew's chatter and waiting for her master to enact her plan.

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><p>Finally arriving at the entry door to the arena, Tessa watches as Val Hallen enters the ring via his mighty axe to perform a guitar solo for the crowd before the next match.<p>

Tessa laughs silently to herself, "Can't believe I used to have a crush on this moron when I was seven. He's lamer than the Ameba Boys."

The Norse god of rock begins to the play a powerful cord and the crowd cheers loudly. Levitating off the ground, Tessa shoots into the arena and slams Val Hallen in the face with her elbow. His mighty axe flies into the air, spinning several times, before falling in a slow arc.

Tessa manages to catch it and grins broadly, shouting, "FORE!" She swings at the stunned hero's jaw with all her might, sending him flying into the back wall and out in the parking lot.

Tessa drops the guitar onto mat like it is a rag doll and smashes the neck of the magical instrument with the heel of her foot. The pink instrument loses its luster and turns stone gray.

"Stop right there fiend. I, the American hammers of Justice will stop you!" Comes a shout from the back and Major Glory flies out and lands in front of Tessa in the ring.

Tessa rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips, "Oh, it's just you Major Dufus. Where is that purple moron of yours? In the back playing with those stupid Puppet Pal figures of his?"

In answer to the question, Krunk stampedes like a wildebeest for the opposite side of the arena, jumps high into the air, cupping his hands together, ready to hammer Tessa into the mat.

The purple skinned man smashes into the ring, causing the center of it to bucket and fall apart and the hero smiles, "Krunk beat bad lady. Krunk happy that he beat her."

A malicious laugh echoes from behind Krunk and he turns around looking confused, "I'm up here! You didn't even come close to hitting me. I moved at the last second you dolt."

Tessa swoops down and grabs Krunk around the middle, hoisting him high into the air. Giving Krunk a small push with her other hand, Tessa spins the hero like a top on the point of her finger and as she pulls her hand away; she kicks Krunk like a soccer ball through the hole Van Hallen went thought.

Major Glory's jaw drops, and he begins to sputter, "B-B-By Uncle Sam's beard, I need to call in help! Members of AWSM, assemble!"

Big Ben, Tiki Torch and SAM-R-I walk from the back, while Phan Tone and Living Bullet fly in from the front of the arena, where they had been serving as guest commentators.

Tessa yawns and lazily spouts, "What a bunch of lame losers. I'll finish this quickly, so I can conduct my business."

With that said, the evil girl twirls like a graceful ballerina, rotating faster and faster until she forms her Teal Tornado, sucking up the heroes into the unyielding vortex. The hapless sucks unable to fight back, scream in terror until Tessa stops revolving, causing them to fire off like bullets into the walls.

Making sure there are no more distractions, Tessa lands in front of the announcers table and grabs the microphone away from Nick.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"If you value your life, you will shut up now before I decide to make you Fear's new chew toy!" Tessa hisses.

Nick's face pales and shrinks back into his chair. Tessa rises aloft once more and all the television cameras focus on her.

The young woman clears her throat and upon finishing, proceeds with her message, "I have an important announcement to make! I, Tessa Wren, am formally issuing a challenge to that stupid imperfection, Holden Wren, to a no hold bar fight in three months time. It has no choice, but to accept this fight, since it's already been legalized! If it has help training for this event from any of those Loser puff girls, there will be serious consequences! You had better be ready for this you stupid thing, because I know I will be ready to end your miserable life on that day. I suggest you get whatever affairs you have in order before then!"

She tosses the microphone down onto Chip's head and flies over to the control room window. She flicks the glass with her index finger, breaking it instantly and Fear jumps into her arms. The two fly off through one of the many holes in the arena walls, leaving the crowd murmuring.

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><p>"You've heard it for yourself sports fans. Tessa Wren has called out her brother to a no hold bar fight. This sports announcer has never seen anything like this in all his days." Nick commentates as Buttercup turns the TV off.<p>

"When I get my hands on Tessa, I'm going to smack her so hard, that pet fox of hers will feel it!"

Wide eyed at what happened, Blossom shakes her head sadly, "There isn't any way we can stop this. It's legal."

She glances over at Holden, who is wide eyed as well, but he is shaking badly and soon he beings to hyperventilate.

Blossom embraces him tightly and in a soft whisper, coos, "Holden, just calm down, we will get you through this! I promise you that we will find some way for you to survive this!"

Holden's breathing normalizes at Blossom's calming touch. Bubbles and Buttercup encircle the young adult and hug him tightly, scared at what is to become of him. Hot tears seep from Holden's eyes as he tries to deal with the emotional turmoil deep inside.

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><p>I hope you all enjoyed that. If you are wondering who Chip and Nick are, they are the sports announcers from KND. I have yet to see them in any fics for FF so I figured why not allow them to show up. Tell me what you guys think of how I'm doing so far on this.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Planning Session

Here is the next chapter everyone. Sorry it took so long, but my temp job was crazy and then I got sick. So thanks for baring with the delay. Hope you enjoy this. I used my friend Animegirl's character in this chapter for a brief moment.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Planning Session<strong>

"Yes, I'll tell them to come to Dexlabs right away Dexter," The Professor responds as he disconnects the nancom from the call he was just having and walks from his office, returning to the living room.

"Girls, Holden. Dexter has requested that you all come to Dexlabs. He's holding a conference about what Tessa's challenge," The aged scientist shouts upon entering the room.

A befuddled expression appears in the Professor's eyes as he only sees three of his children.

He scratches his stubbly chin and remarks, "Girls, where is Holden? He should be going with you to Dexlabs."

Bubbles, whom has Octi in her arms, squeezes him tighter and squeaks softly, "He went to Eternal Vista, Professor."

Professor Utonium sits down, taken aback by Holden's actions, and questions. "He's gone to visit the graves of the nanos, hasn't he?"

Blossom nods slowly and looks the Professor in the eye, confessing, "He just wanted some time to himself so he could think Professor."

"You girls should get going to Dexlabs. I will catch up in a little while."

Buttercup crosses her arms, bluntly communicating, "We are not leaving the house without you Professor."

The Professor looks at his girls, sternly countering "No, I will catch up with you all later. Now get going or Dexter will worry that something else is the matter."

Defeated, the three siblings reluctantly levitate off the couch, floating to the door and into the sky.

Once the girls are out of his visual range, the Professor returns to his office and dials Max Tennyson. "Max here. Is there something you need Professor? I was just leaving to go to Dexlabs."

The Professor falls into his chair, with a grimace, "Max, I need a favor from you. Can you please travel to Eternal Vista and pursued Holden to allow Gwen in assisting him to train his powers?"

"Of course I will, but why is he at the cemetery?"

Professor Utonium massages the corners of his eyes before speaking again, "He is visiting the graves of the nanos. One can only assume he is trying to find some answer on how to beat Tessa without them."

Max's eyes close as he nods in agreement, then opens them and enunciates, "I'll leave right now to talk with him. Ben is already at Dexlabs with Gwen and Kevin. They can do all the talking that I would have done. I'll call you after I talk with him."

Max's image disappears, ending the call. The Professor breaths out slowly, allowing himself to relax, before standing up and walking to his car to traverse to Dexlabs.

* * *

><p>As the Puffs fly through the clouds towards Dexlabs, a weird looking cylindrical vehicle with wheels rises up from the cloud bank and flies alongside them. Peeking out from one of the many windows on the side is Bobo Haha, who sneers at the girls and then laughs.<p>

Buttercup pulls up alongside the contraption where Bobo is, makes a rude gesture at him, at which point she zooms off at top speed laughing. Bubbles gasps at the behavior and boosts the speed at which she is flying to match that of her sister.

Blossom sighs, performing the same action as Bubbles and soon catches up to her green clad sister, scolding "Buttercup that was really rude. I want you to apologize to him when we get to Dexlabs."

Buttercup rolls her eyes, "Whatever Red, we're there now. I hope Dorkster has a good idea on what to do."

Snorting at Buttercup's disrespectful responses, Blossom gives Buttercup a disdainful look, but says nothing more to her as they fly towards the lab on. Blossom was tired of her sister being even more disrespectful than usual and she wanted to know the reason behind it.

The pink puff place the thought in the back of her mind as the tall blue and white building of Dexlabs comes into focus through the clouds, glittering like a jewel in the mid-morning sun. Many cars are parked in the employee lot, including a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and other crafts that belong to other organizations. The three teenage girls descended from the sky and float down to the lab entry.

Computress is hovering just inside the doorway greeting guests, "Dexter is waiting for you girls in the conference room. Please go in and find a seat."

Upon entry into the lab, the obvious din of people talking over one another can be heard in the distance, as well as a scream from a certain red headed scientist.

"We best go help Dexy so the meeting can start," Bubbles states, trying not to giggle.

Buttercup just rolls her eyes, "The dwarf doesn't need our help at all. That is the reason they invented bullhorns."

The trio proceeds down the passageway to the loud energetic room full of noise. Quickly, the three girls cross the room's threshold, absconding to the back to the last empty seats. In the front of the Conference room, Dexter is standing abreast of a white board, waiting to write down ideas.

Even at a distance, it's evident that Dexter's eyes are swollen and red from the absences of sleep. The young genius opens his mouth and begins to speak, but his voice is drained out by the ambient noise of the other voices.

Bubbles stands up and shouting shrilly, "EVERYONE BE QUIET! DEXY WANTS TO START THE MEETING!"

Ben, Rachel and several others cover their ears at the high pitch scream.

Dexter smiles at the silence and nods appreciative, "Thank you for the help Bubbles, but it wasn't necessary to break everyone's ear drums to quiet everyone down. I think…"

Before Dexter can even continue, Professor Utonium, Six, Bobo Haha, Caesar, Rex, and Kyara walk into the room, and slowly make their way to empty seats. The little girl looks around, wondering why so many people have gathered and quietly sits next to Rex.

Slipping off his purple gloves, Dexter stares at small crowd of friends and finally addresses them, "I'm sorry to call you all here on such short notice, but you know the reason for why I have summoned you. That vile woman that has ownership of Exervent has declared a skirmish between herself and Holden. Tessa has virtually called for Holden's public execution. I have been thinking of ways to help Holden with this predicament in the last several hours, but the best counter measures I have come up with won't be fully ready for five months. If any of you would be willing to come up with ideas or help Holden in some way, I am willing to hear you out."

Dexter sits down in his chair, exhausted for his speech.

Gwen gradually stands, looking determined to say her piece, "I think it would be best if some of us train Holden. I will help him learn how to use and harness his powers. As you know, I had to do this myself without anyone to guide me. With my help, he will be better prepared to use his powers against Tessa."

Gwen sits back down, while Kevin and Ben give her approving smiles.

Dexter nods at Gwen, "Does anyone else have an inkling on what can be done."

Rex glances quickly at Six, grins broadly and states in a cool manner, "I don't mean to brag Dexter, but Six here has the best tactical skills in Providence. He can tutor Holden to use new tactics. He could use them against that insane sister of his."

Six cocks an eyebrow behind his sunglasses at Rex, replying, "I can train him, but he has to be willing to learn from me. I won't be an easy teacher."

Dexter forces himself to smile at Six and once again looks around, "Do we have anyone else who wishes to help train Holden?"

"Lance will do it," comes a chipper voice from the side of the room.

The crowd turns their collective heads in unison to gaze at Ilana, whom is seated next to Octus and pointing at Lance, who is leaning against a wall.

He groans, crosses his arms and sternly replies, "I can train him in the Galalunia combat style. That should give him an edge in hand to hand combat."

Dexter fervently frowns with Lance's offer, but resigns himself to nodding weakly, "I do not know the difficulty level the style you employ is Lance, but you had best be a good teacher. In the meantime, I will require Professor Utonium's and Octus' help on a second project after I have procured some much needed rest."

Stretching and yawning loudly, Dexter stands to leave for his private quarters, when suddenly, Mr. Green clears his throat and speaks softly, "I do have a suggestion that you might want to consider."

The look in his only eye shows he is apprehensive about this suggestion. Kilroy did not want to bring this idea up, but he was worried that Holden would not be properly prepared for the task ahead of him.

The demon breaths out slowly, suggesting, "I think at some point during each training session, Holden should be tested to see how he is progressing. We want to make sure Holden is prepared as much as possible for this fight."

A small murmur runs through the crowd and Dexter remains silent for a few moments. The young genius did have the same idea, but he dared not speak it. The girls and the Professor would most likely have objected to it, but they were not speaking out against it.

After a moment, Dexter breaks from his thoughts to respond, "That might be the only thing that we can do to make sure he is ready. Mr. Green, I will leave the matter of Holden's tests in your hands."

With another giant yawn, Dexter exits the room and Professor Utonium walks to the front of the room to begin discussing what else they could do to help Holden.

* * *

><p>Over in Eternal Vista, Holden stares down at the tiny grave meant for all the nanos. He has spent the last two hours racking his brain on trying to come up with a solution to beating Tessa without the use of a nano's drain ability.<p>

Conceding defeat a with large sigh, Holden gazes at the ground as he becomes sick to his stomach with worry.

"I guess, the only choice I have is to fight her," the young man says to himself.

In the distance, the sound of crunching leaves is heard, causing Holden to wheel around to see who it is. Max is slowly walking along the path and stops when he finally reaches Holden.

Rather stumped about the older gentleman's presence, Holden inquires "Is the meeting over at Dexlabs over already? I thought it would have taken longer."

Max leans against the nearest tree, answering, "I didn't go at all since the Professor asked me to come talk with you about that. From what I've heard, the meeting is nearly over. Gwen sent me a message telling me the results of what was talked about. She would like to request that you reconsider allowing her to teach you how to use your powers. You need a teacher that understands what you are going through."

Holden blinks a few times and looks down at the ground, forcing a smile and concluding, "I really don't have any other options, but to accept Gwen's help on the matter, do I?"

Max nods at Holden seriously, "At this point in time, you don't really have the luxury to turn down her help or anyone else's for that matter."

Knowing that Max is right and he has no other viable options, Holden takes a deep breath, before slowly letting it out, "I guess Gwen and I should get started on the training now."

"We don't have any time to lose. I'll give you a ride to Dexlabs, Holden." Max walks back down the path towards the _Rustbucket_ and the pink haired teen stumbles down the path behind him.

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><p>Hope you enjoyed it. I know it was shorter compared to my other chapters, but this one wasn't meant to be very long.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: Training Probe

Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I got about half way done and started to have computer issues. Well here is the next chapter, so please enjoy. I only own Holden and no other characters in this chapter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Training Probe<strong>

As pre-dawn light scatters above the horizon, Holden slouches in a seat that resides in the green jet Kevin has dubbed the _Rustbucket, _as he, Max and Gwen fly towards Bellwood stadium to being Holden's training.

Glancing sideways at Holden and noticing his posture, Gwen knows that Holden is nervous.

She gently reaches over to him squeezes his hand to calm him down, "Just relax. Once the training starts and you begin learning more, everything will become more natural to you."

"I just wish that was true in my case. Nothing feels natural about these powers. I think too much about what I wish to do, even when it comes to flying. That causes even more trouble."

"When I first started trying to use and understand my powers, I had the same issues as you did. As I learned more and more, they felt more natural to me. I grew into them. I'm pretty sure you will as well."

The young man glances over at the auburn headed girl, who flashes him a small warm smile.

This smile causes Holden to relax, allowing his hidden fears about his powers to ebb away and leans back in his seat to de-stress, "I really hope you're not joshing me on this."

Gwen crosses her arms staring coolly at the controls, icily pointing out, "That would be more of Ben's or Kevin's speed to be jerks like that. I'm not so juvenile to pull tricks on you like they would."

"They aren't going to be help you with this are they? I thought they said they would help you in helping me train?"

Huffing, Gwen turns her back to Holden, projecting her anger towards him, "They decided last night that this wasn't worth their time and are going to watch what is happening instead. We don't need their help all at all," she swivels her chair back to facing Holden, looking guilty and her lips are pursed, "Sorry for taking my anger out on you. I'm practically steamed with Kevin for his lack of corporation on this matter. Kevin had to learn from someone on how to harness his powers while being in a null void prison. He knows what you are going through, but refuses to be of assistance."

Sighing softly, the pink haired young man gazes out as puffy white clouds pass the cabin windows. An unsettled feeling grows in the pit of Holden's stomach as he feels as if things just became unquestionably more difficult for him. His posture slowly changes and his eye lids droop a fraction of an inch as stress takes over Holden's body.

Placing the jet on auto pilot, Max stretches and glances over his shoulder at Holden from the pilot seat, suddenly becoming rather concerned at the young man's body language.

Having noticed her grandfather's movements and disposition, Gwen voices, "Holden are you alright? You seem kind of distant."

Jerking his head quickly back to look at Gwen, he nods weakly, "I'm fine Gwen. I was just thinking of Blossom for a moment. There isn't anything wrong."

Gwen glowers at the boy, but doesn't press the issue, "I'm just making sure you aren't developing cold feet about the training."

Holden glares at the red head and hints indignantly, "That's rather insulting Gwen. I don't have the luxury to back out of this."

Taken aback by the outburst, Gwen's mouth hangs taut for a brief moment before she closes it, "I didn't mean to insinuate anything about running away Holden. I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be apologizing Gwen. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"It's understandable Holden; you're a bit on edge about having to use your powers. Just relax for now."

The minutes tick away slowly as silence falls into the cockpit, until at last, Max voices, "We're touching down in a few moments. Place your seatbelts on."

The two teens fastens their belts as the elderly chap instructs. The cabin slowly rumbles as the landing thrusters kick into life as the jet performs a vertical landing. Once the rocking subsides, Gwen unbuckles herself and strolls through the only door to the back of the jet to begin lowering the ramp.

Gwen reenters to see Holden loosens his belt straps and stand up, "We got a lot of work ahead of us."

She and Holden exit the cockpit and walk down the ramp into the stadium, while Max crosses the street to visit the local coffee shop.

* * *

><p>The teens walk onto the field of the silent stadium, the grass still wet with morning dew.<p>

Trying to fight the nip in the air, Holden rubs his arm while his teeth chatter, "I…I wis…h I had a jac…cket or a sw…sweater on. Wh…hy couldn't we…we wait for it t…t…to warm up before w…w…we start?"

"This is all part of the training Holden. You have to be ready for any weather at any time. Conditions like these adversely affect how you will react with your abilities. I won't be holding back during this practice session, so come at me with everything you got."

Pink mana gathers around Gwen's hand, but before she can stretch her arm out to make attack, Kevin and Ben walk onto the field, their arms laden with drinks and popcorn, thus causing the mana to disappear.

"Don't mind us Gwen. Kevin and I are here to watch you "teach" Holden to use his powers. This should be more entertaining than Sumo Slammers." Snickering, the two boys ascend into the stands and being slurping on their sodas.

The use of Ben's air quotes didn't go unnoticed by Gwen, who glares at her cousin and boyfriend with a pout. To her, this was just another reason to lecture them on bad behavior, but that would have to wait until later.

Turning around, Gwen turns her attention back to Holden and raises her hand and it glows once again with her pink mana, as do her eyes.

"I wasn't going to say anything about this until later but, your emotions can also influence how your powers behave."

Mana leaps from Gwen's outstretched hand as she swings her arm in an upwards motion before whipping her arm towards the ground, making the mana crash onto the earth, causing it to oscillates with seismic tremors.

The shaking terra forces the young man to stumble as he tries to move about and focus on his target. Holden's eye glow with energy for a brief moment as he fires his eyes beams wildly at Gwen.

The red head sweeps the air that is in front of her with palm, creating a pink mana shield an instant before the indigo energy collides with the shield. The energies momentarily interact with each, sparking and hissing and afterward the eye beams harmless rebounding into scoreboard.

Gritting his teeth, Holden is reminded of the fight between himself and fusion Gwen from the previous year. He hadn't stood a chance back then, and was only won because Blossom saved him. Against the genuine Gwen, the margin for a victory wouldn't be much higher.

_At least she's not my enemy, _Holden thought gratefully as he begins to float a few inches off the ground, looking rather shaky in the air.

The young man slowly spreads his arms so that his hands are seven inches apart and in one fluid motion, slaps his hands together, creating a weak pressure wave. Pieces of Astroturf and dirt gravitate into the air and are pushed towards Gwen.

Acting with haste, Gwen erects a dome of energy over her head and it cascades around her body, as the debris quickly approaches. The dirt and fake grass pummels the dome and small fractures appear at the base as the wave of debris overtakes the position.

Once the rubble and mud pass, the young woman drops her arm and the dome evaporates into the air.

"You're holding back Holden! That shockwave should have been more powerful," Gwen shouts as she tosses several pink mana disks at him.

Dodging several bolts, the pink haired boy flies between the attacks, but soon, even that becomes difficult as more and more fill the air. His progress impeded, Holden's eyes glow indigo as he fires several of his eye beam attack at the disks. The disks and beams connect and spin off in random directions.

Several of the disk sneak past the beam attacks and strikes Holden square in the chest, knocking him onto his butt. Kevin and Ben laugh hysterically as they watch the scene in front of them and they both eat a handful of popcorn.

Kevin burps loudly and muses, "I thought this was going to be lame, but this fight has gotten pretty good. How often do we get to see some action like this that we aren't involved in and it's actually worth watching? This is better than watching that new Sumo Slammers movie."

Grinning from ear to ear, Ben vigorously nods, "We don't get to watch any good fights too often Kevin. This fight is totally better than the Sumo Slammers movie fights or the fight that Azmuth and Vilgax got into on Primus. Come on Gwen, just grab him with your mana and smash him into the ground already!"

Ignoring the jeers from her cousin, Gwen throws more of her mana disk. Holden takes a deep breath and screams loud, producing a low powered sonic screech. Covering her ears, Gwen watches as her disks slowly loose speed and break apart into mana fragments from the pitch of the attack.

Incapable of scream much longer, the young man ceases his attack, only to begin hacking loudly. Gasping several times between coughing fits, the young man soon regulates his breathing, but is soon hit by water a stream of water that Gwen has summoned from the dew on the field.

"The enemy won't stop for you to cough and recover at all Holden. Stand up and keep showing me what you got."

Panting slightly, Holden considers the options and quickly opens his eyes wide. A wide beam of pure heat ejects itself from his corneas and sweeps towards his target. Without performing a simple action, pink stairs flash into existence and Gwen rushes upwards to avoid the intense heat.

As the beam starts to taper off and slowly retreats, the young woman spins on her heel and jumps down onto the now smoldering field. Small flame burn from the fake grass and soon flick out. Panting slightly, Holden opens his and sprints towards Gwen, using the limit speed that he had gained from his powers.

"Come on Gwen, he's going running slower then my slowest alien! You can stop him," Ben shouts to his cousin.

Placing her arms at her side, Gwen pools her mana into her arms and throws her arms to chest height, unleashing arcs of mana energy. Spinning in midair, the young man dodges the first mana arc, but rotation speed, causes him to spin into the second. Holden flies backwards and rolls across the ground a few meters, before slowly rising to his feet.

Huffing from having the wind knocked out of him, Holden eyes glow indigo for a third time and fires the beams at the plumber. Gwen instinctively throws one of her disks and the two attacks smash together and disperse in separate parts of the stadium.

The indigo beams head straight for Ben, who is unable to react is time and is hit full in the chest. He topples onto the ground, with his smooth spilling all over him.

Kevin laughs and splutters, "Oh man, that is just too funny Ben. You should see your face."

He continues laughing, but is unaware that Gwen's disk makes a glancing blow off the scoreboard adjacent them and redirects itself at him. The disk collides with Kevin's throat and he flies backwards next to Ben, his bag of popcorn falling on top of his head.

"We had this coming, didn't we?"

"I think we both did Kevin."

Both boys struggle to their feet without uttering a single word to watch the session continue. Raggedly breathing, Holden struggles to stay standing. He shakily raises his right arm and places his palm out flat in front of himself and indigo energy begins to build.

_I'm not sure how powerful that attack is, but I have to stop him from completing it!_, Gwen thinks as she forms a small disk, throwing low to the ground.

Holden unable to see the disk, starts to relax his arm to release the omega beam's energy, when the disk strikes his hand. His hand is forced up at an angel and the omega beam is fired into the stands, destroying a large section of the stadium. Holden tumbles onto the ground, a livid look of fear in his eyes, while his body shakes.

A loud, reverberating thud outside the stadium fills the air and Kevin runs to the gash that is now present. On the other side of the hole, the jet known as the _rustbucket _is cloven in two. Bits of electrical components spark and the rear end falls forward onto the ground with a thump.

Anger flashes through Kevin's eyes and tightens his right hand into fist. That jet was his baby and no one - and he means no one - was going to destroy it after what happened the last time. Touching a piece of steel pipe, Kevin absorbs its properties, becoming like the material.

Jumping down onto the field, the young Osmosian blindly lunges at Holden and lifts him into the air by the collar.

"You destroyed my jet you punk. I should beat the stuffing out of you for that."

Gwen jogs up to her boyfriend and tugs on his arm, "Kevin, leave Holden alone. Can't you see he's scared at just what happened?"

Kevin smirks, "Scared of what I'll do to him."

Rubbing her forehead with her free hand, Gwen sternly glares at Kevin, scolding, "You may not be able to see it, but I can! He's scared of what he could have done if there had been people in those stands. He could have killed them or worse, he could have killed you or Ben."

Kevin loosens his grip on Holden, who falls to the ground, "Oh, I guess I see what you're talking about."

Gwen glance down at Holden with pity in her eyes, "Holden, I'm sorry that happened to you. I know you're scared about the possibility of what could have happened, but don't think about quitting just because of this mishap. We can work you through this."

Slowly standing up, he utters softly "I'm not sure I can get through it Gwen. This incident makes me fear my powers more."

"I understand Holden. Please go get some rest."

Nodding slightly, Holden walks to the nearest tunnel and disappears from view. Once Holden is out of view, the young red headed Plumber snatches her nancom from her pocket and starts to dial a number.

"Um, Gwen, who are you calling," Ben asked as he joined his best friend and cousin.

"Someone that I know will be able to help Holden get over his fear. Now shut up both of you. I don't want to talk to you."

Kevin and Ben exchange looks, knowing they were just put into the dog house by Gwen.

* * *

><p>Again, I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter. The action in this chapter should satisfy you all I hope. Please tell me if I did something outlandish or wrong or just want to make your opinion heard.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Pep Talk Surprise

****Well everyone, After a bit of work, here is chapter 5. I would like to thank Animegirl for allowing me to borrow Alice for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Pep Talk Surprise<strong>

After the success of the experiment, Dexter gazes over the top of his handheld computer pad at the blue haired girl who had just helped him complete a fraction of his research. His hope is that this girl's efforts will allow the project to flourish in the near future. The data collected from this test would be most beneficial to mankind.

Having her hands in front of her body, the girl nervously asks, "Um Dexter, I was wondering if I could…"

Looking back at the data, Dexter waves his hand in a non-distinct gesture, interrupting the female, "Yes, you may keep the prototype, Alice. It would appear that the prototype has imprinted you as someone of importance and thus will respond only to you. Most likely the imprinting occurred because of your DNA. I have other research that I have to look into that is of paramount importance. I'm sure you can find the way out of the building."

Tucking the pad under his arm, Dexter leaves the room and down the hall to an un-descript door that read "Top Secret." Alice Spacebyte stares down at her nancom, wondering why the prototype was able to interact with the device with seemingly little hassle.

The prototype did seem to become rather attached to her once it was completed and to her, it felt like she had someone to care for her, like she once had with her mother before the war. Shaking her head, Alice banishes any thoughts on the subject from her mind, and leaves the room, heading for the elevator.

Pressing the button on the console pad, the young teenager taps her foot, watching the numbers above the doors flicker on and off as the car comes closer to her floor.

With a small ding, the doors open allowing Alice to board and she is greeted by a polite computerized female voice, "Please state your desired destination."

"Ground floor please, if you don't mind," Alice squeaks, still nervous over this new feature.

The doors swoosh gently shut and moments later, Alice feels the soft lurch of the ascending elevator. As the car closes in on the ground floor, the first few notes of 'Hikari' plays from the young teenager's com. Alice reaches into her handbag, fumbling around for the device, and after a second, her fingertips dance over the phone.

Quickly pulling it out, Alice turns it on and answers meekly, "Hello?"

"Alice, it's Gwen Tennyson," the red head answers as her image appears on the com's screen.

"Hi Gwen. Is something the matter? You don't look too happy," Alice replies with worry in her voice, "Did Kevin do something to upset you again?"

"He and Ben did do something that upset me, but that's not the reason why I called," the red head quietly utters, then continuing on, "Alice, I need your help here in Bellwood. I'm trying to help Holden understand his powers better, but after today's training session, we ran into a small snag. It's one you've had to deal with yourself."

Alice's eyes widen and she nods in understanding. Early in the war, she had discovered her alien origins and the powers she possessed. This had terrified her immensely and she was rather upset about hurting people when she had so little control. Gwen and Juniper had coaxed her into learning how to control them and thus save the lives others.

"I'll try and get there in about an hour Gwen. What happened to cause him to be so scared?"

"During practice, I tried to prevent him from completing his omega beam, but I was too late and when I hit his hand and the energy fired into the empty stands, destroying a portion of the stadium, along with the _Rustbucket_."

"Oh no. He must be feeling terrible right now. I'll fly over right away."

"Thanks Alice. I owe you."

Smiling in thanks, Gwen's image disappears from the screen, allowing Alice to stow the com once more in her purse. Stopping with a soft jerk, the elevators doors silently open, revealing the spacious blue and white titled lobby of Dexlabs. Sunlight filters the energy efficient glass windows, illuminating many of Dexter's old inventions, including his dodge ball armor.

Without stopping to gaze at any of Dexter's old achievements, Alice ventures outside to the small fountain in the center of Tech Square. Staring upon the fountains' beautiful water display in awe, the young Keltic turns away, ready to start her journey to Bellwood. She slowly rises into the air and swiftly flies to the northwest.

* * *

><p>Having lost track of time while soaring through the sky, Alice nearly misses Bellwood stadium as she dips below the cloud cover. Once she is close enough to the ground, the remains of the <em>Rustbucket<em> becomes visible against the grey pavement. Upon seeing the scar lining the stadium wall, Alice's mouth falls in astonishment at the damage. Wisps of smoke loop skyward as the smoldering debris cools.

One of the plastic chairs hanging on the edge of the scar falls into a slag pile with a thud and Alice covers her noise at the putrid smell of melted plastic. Suddenly feeling ill, Alice distances herself from the refuse by entering the nearest gate into the stadium and nearly crashing into Gwen, but still hitting her with her purse accidentally.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you with my purse!" Alice apologized.

"It's alright Alice. It was an accident. Were you trying to escape the fumes?"

Alice nods to the question, only to respond, "Where is Holden? I should talk to him straight away."

"He's in the employee lounge, trying to take a nap. I'll take you to him."

Turning on her heels, Gwen scurries down the corridor with Alice scrambling to keep up with her and before long, the two females stop at a wooden oak door, "Here we are Alice. Good luck in there."

Smiling at the red head, Alice nods confidently and opens the portal to the room.

Once inside, Alice tiptoes to the couch, bending down to speak softly, "Holden, are you awake? I want to talk with you."

Sitting up listlessly, Holden gazes at Alice, "What did you want to talk about?"

"Gwen told me what happened," Alice says quietly and places her hand on his shoulder, "I know you are scared because of what could of happened, but you can't allow that stop you from moving forward. I ran away out of fear because of my powers. I thought it would be best to do so, since I wouldn't hurt those I cared about, but I was wrong. I faced that fear with Gwen and I learned to protect them with that power. Your powers can help protect people as well, you have to let Gwen and I help you hone them to prevent another mishap."

As Alice finishes her speech, Holden looks down at the floor, half smiling, "I really didn't need a battle field psychologist, but you're right. I shouldn't give up so easily on trying to control my powers in the first place. Thanks for talking some sense into me Alice."

Alice beams in happiness, able to help her friend out of his depression, "Let's have a small practices sparing session, but only use the abilities that you think you have the most control over."

With a waggle of his head in agreement, Holden quickly egresses from the room, heading towards the main stadium. Shaking her head, Alice just smiles, running after him.

* * *

><p>Gwen stands between her two students with her hands raised, looking from one to the other, "When one of you says yield, the sparing is done! You can start once I am out of the way."<p>

Lowering her hands, Gwen somersaults to the sidelines to watch her pupils. Alice raises her hand and shots a strong telekinetic blast at Holden, who braces himself and is pushed backwards a few inches. Upon stopping, Holden kneels down; digging his hands into the bare earth and lifts a large rock above his head, throwing it at Alice.

Scrunching her eyes tightly, Alice raises her hands and concentrates on an image deep in her mind. The tumbling stone begins to slowly warp and melt, breaking into smaller pieces and changing its shape and texture until it there is pile of soft fluffy pillows at the girl's feet.

Relieved that her object deformation powers had worked, Alice smiles and lifts one of the pillows into her arms, squishing it tightly. To her amazement, it was softer than the pillow she had at home and this gave her an idea.

Shutting her eyes once more, Alice concentrates on the pillows, lifting them off the ground, and chucking them at Holden before he could commit another action. The young man dodges the first pillow with ease, but the next two hit him in his chest, which causes him to lose his balance.

The final pillow connects with his left shin and he topples over face first into the dirt. Slowly standing, Holden brushes the dirt off his face and torso before taking a long deep breath, filling his lungs with air. Unable to hold his breath any longer, the young man quickly exhales, creating a fifty mile per hour wind.

Nearly knocked off her feet by the gale force wind, the teenager barely erects a bubble of telekinetic energy in time to protect herself. The howling air whips around the nearly invisible sphere for a full minute, before it subsides. Dissolving part of the sphere behind her, the young lady shoves the remaining shell at Holden.

Preparing for impact, Holden firmly stands in place and at the last second, grabs at the shell, trying to drive it away. As the young man struggles with the telekinetic shell, he is slowly pushed backwards, while is legs burrow into the earth.

Reaching his physical limits with beads of sweat running down the young man's face and arms, Holden releases his grip on the shell. The energy plows Holden into the ground as its force increases and when it reaches the stadium wall, it evaporates. Giving a slight moan of pain, Holden staggers to his feet.

A small stream of blood flows from a cut on his forehead down his nose to his mouth. Gazing at Alice, the young adult opens his eyes wide to fire his eye beams, but as he does, his vision blurs. The beam leaves his eyes and quickly races towards Alice and the place over her heart.

Reacting as best she can, the young woman tries to use her shield, but she knew she would be too late.

The nancom in her pocket glows a soft blue and a small figure materializes, absorbing the beams with a shield guard and yelling, "She yields! I'm not going to allow this to go on!"

Holden blinks at the tiny person and realizes what it is, "A Numbuh 274 nano! Alice how…how did you get that?"

Hugging the nano with a relieved smile, Alice kisses its head and then walks over to Holden, "Dexter has been testing out how to make nanos without fusion matter. He found a substance that works, but for it to truly be viable, the DNA of the person using the nano has to be incorporated into the substance. After that, you just need the other two ingredients that are used to create the nano normally. This little guy here is the prototype that Dexter created with the substance and my DNA." Alice explains fully.

"So does that mean I could possibly get another set of nanos?" Holden inquires hopefully.

Maybe his luck had just changed.

Looking at Holden sadly, Alice shakes her head, "Dexter tried using your DNA first in the experiment and it didn't work. I'm so sorry Holden."

Holden cross his arms with a small smile creasing his lips, "Then I guess I just have to fight Tessa the old fashioned way like I was planning to."

Alice smiles at Holden, nodding in support, "That's the spirit! I hurt you rather badly, let's get you bandaged up."

Grabbing Holden's arm, Alice leads Holden inside to the medical office.

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><p>I hope you guys liked this chapter. Did anyone guess the prototype was actually a nano? Next chapter is going to be good and its all about Tessa.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6: Mandark's Downfall

Well here is chapter six and as promised its the Tessa chapter. If you think I have done a job on something please speak your mind. As a reminder I do not own Brick, Butch and Mandark

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Mandark's Downfall<strong>

Seated in her study, Tessa surveys footage that Fear gathered while spying on the imperfection and the Plumber brats in Bellwood. The last two days had yielded the dark Puff with much joy at seeing the thing tossed around and beaten like a testing dummy.

Progressing the video several minutes, Tessa resumes play back as she watches Kevin sitting on Holden's back while performing pushups, "This is laughable. Levin is going about increasing that things stamina all wrong. He should force more weight onto the things back to make it work harder till it dies!"

Her lips twist into a cruel smile while watching the rest of the video. A soft rapping is heard from the door, before it opens slightly and a young woman in a secretary outfit enters with files in her arms.

"The forms necessary for a takeover of a business are here as requested, Ms. Wren. What company are you planning to acquire?"

Taking the files from the woman's hands and perusing all the legal forms, Tessa grins, "I plan on forcing a hostile takeover of Mandark Industries by any means I can think of. I plan on making the news about it rather…explosive."

The secretary nods and walks out of the room. With a final scan, Tessa flourishes her signature on the indicated lines to complete her dark deed. Throwing the pen aside, the woman strolls from the study, down the hall to her living room.

Once inside, the evil girl smiles tenderly at the sight of her boyfriend upon the couch and sits on his lap, kissing him gently.

As the kiss concludes, Brick leans back, taking in the look on his girl's face, breaking into a wide grin, "You got something big planned. Does it involve me and Butch breaking someone's property?"

"It involves more than just destroying property, Brickie. It involves destroying that person's hopes and ambitions as well."

A glimmer of malice shines brightly in Brick's red eyes, "So who is the unlucky sob we get to break?"

Sliding off Brick's lap, the young woman bounces on her heels in excitement, exclaiming, "We're going to break Mandark and take everything he has left for ourselves!"

"Astronominov will finally get what he deserves for not taking you seriously. His resistance is going to be more pathetic than Boomer with a cold."

With a soft chuckle, Brick dashes into the hall, leaving behind his signature trail of light. Knowing where Brick had gotten off to, Tessa saunters onto the veranda and glides to the ground floor.

* * *

><p>At that exact same time, Mandark slumps in his office chair, gazing at the radiant picture of his beloved, Dee Dee, "Ah, Dee Dee, my sweet. Someday you will be mine and all the riches of the world will be yours."<p>

Sighing contently, the caped villain leans back, placing his fingertips together, smiling, "Now, on to my next plan to destroy Dexter. The shrimp will never suspect that I would use that material to bring about his ultimate destruction!"

Laughing manically, Mandark pulls from his desk, a small padded box, which he opens. A green hue shines onto the scientists face, outlining his devilish grin. As Mandark closes the box and stows it in his pocket, the proximity alarms piercingly blares and a small monitor ascends from the center of the desk, "Now what's going on? It's probably just one of Dexter's stupid robots crossing onto my property again!"

Looking upon the monitor, Mandark's jaw drops in terror as the image appears, "Te…Te…Tessa is on her way here with the Ruffs! Whatever they are here for, they won't get close to this building to get it."

Typing frantically, the evil genius commands the science carrier to attack the targets and the Mandroids to defend the building. Sitting once more, Mandark flicks a switch under his desk and descends from view into his secret hanger.

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><p>Mandark's Science Carrier slowly looms on the horizon to the south.<p>

Stopping in midflight, Butch stares at the gigantic machine and laughs, "Is that the best Mandark can do? Sending that flying junkyard at us?"

Using his X-Ray vision, Brick gazes into the interior and after a moment stops when his eyes rest on a battery of missiles labeled "Warning contains Antidote X, handle with caution."

Annoyed with the mistake his brother nearly made, Brick slap Butch upside the head, "You idiot! You would have flown right into Mandark's Antidote X missile trap if I hadn't been here."

With his head shaking in anticipation for the upcoming brawl, the green Ruff counters, "So? I just want to smash something and bring back Mandy something special. Nothing is going to prevent me from putting a hurt on Mandark and his machines!"

Rising up next to Butch, the teal clad puff crosses her arm, barking, "If you want to bash something, shut up and attack the mandroids down on the street. Brickie and I will deal with his airship."

Without a word, Butch disappears in a flash of green light, leaving Tessa and Brick to deal with their foe.

Glancing at Brick with affection, Tessa sweetly asks, "Do you want to attack while I draw the carrier's fire or would you like to do it the other way around?"

Sheepishly grinning, Brick replies, "For you baby, I would draw any threat away."

"Thanks Brickie. Now let's show Mandark that his pathetic weapons can't stop us,"

With a quick kiss to Brick's cheek, the teal terror swoops from view. Hearing a soft clicking of something opening, the red Ruff spins in midair, only to discover the carrier bearing down upon him.

"Come on Mandork! Give me everything you got," the young man roars.

As if granting his wish, six missiles rumble from their tubes, homing in on the Ruff. Yawning disinterestedly at what is happening; Brick quickly breaths out, creating streams of fire, which cross paths with the weapons, causing them to explode.

"Is that the best you got? I've seen better from a granny with cane!"

In response, four tanks slowly drive to the edge of the carrier, firing several times. As numerous projectiles scream towards the young man, one shell slams in his chest, exploding on contact, while several other shells zoom thought the fiery cloud. As the fire diminishes and the smoke clears away in the breeze, Brick reappears.

With his tattered shirt fluttering in the wind, the red head tosses a shell in the air and catches it with a grin.

"My turn!"

Throwing the shell like discus, the metal object spins rapidly through the air and into an open missile tube, exploding upon contact with its larger cousin inside. The shockwave produced shakes the entire aircraft, ripping apart large sections of ship's hull, as well as entire missile compartments.

The explosion also causes the four tanks on the deck to slide over the edge and crash into the ground with small bangs.

"Now that is what I call an explosive good time!" Brick snickers at his own joke.

* * *

><p>Seizing the opportunity that presented itself, Tessa charges at the gaping hole in the hull, entering the now ruined missile compartment.<p>

"Sending this hunk of junk into that ice burg Ice King calls home will be so easy."

As Tessa floats toward a partially open door, wires spark and crackle, lighting up the room with a blue hue, while missile loaders whine as they waste their remaining power trying to dispense now destroyed munitions.

Gripping the edges of the sliding door, the cyan haired woman forces the door, breaking the sliders in the process. With nothing blocking her objective, Tessa flies down the corridor, following signage to the bridge.

Arriving at her destination, the teal terror kicks in the steel door, sending it flying into the lone Mandroid controlling the ships operations. Floating up to the control panel, the young woman brings up a map of the area and begins to type in coordinates.

"Please be advised that the course you have set has a high chance of collision with an ice burg. Do you wish to proceed?"

Irritated by the computer, the young woman ferociously types in her command. The black walls at the back of the room suddenly turn red and are accompanied by a high pitch squeal.

"That would be my cue to exit," Tessa replies to herself, breaking through the window of the bridge at top speed, flying high into the air to watch her handy work.

Now on auto pilot, the airship screams towards the southwest heading for Bravo Beach at full throttle. Once the sandy shores are overhead, the vessel dives straight into the Ice Kings palace, destroying the top of the mountain and obliterating the bow of the carrier.

The stern in the meantime, slides down the remains of the ice burg and into the water, slowly sinking.

Watching the destruction gleefully from a distance, Tessa slowly drops down next to Brick, "Nice firework show baby. Now where is that dork? Butch is nearly finished taking out those Mandroids and he's ripped out half of Mandarks building defenses."

A long shadow is cast upon the two lovers at that moment and both turn to look at Mandark's giant robot with a loud speaker protruding from its mouth, "So you think you've won just because you took my science carrier out? You will come to realize that this will be the biggest mistake of your short lives when I defeat you with this robot! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha!"

Tessa rolls her eyes and Brick laughs a bit before stating, "Is that supposed to be a joke? That robot is the same one you used in the final battle of the fusion wars. It wouldn't stand a chance against us!"

The robot's right arm lifts into the air, pointing three gun turrets down at Brick. Jumping into action, Tessa and Brick begin to circle around the robotic chump in streams of light, punching through the arms and the lower body.

Moving his controls frantically, Mandark causes the robot to tilt to the side and stumble into a building. Sparks spew from the many consoles around him as he begins to lose power.

Grunting loudly, Mandark slams his fist upon the dead controls, "Drat, I will have to retreat and fight these morons another day!"

His eyes shift to a button above his head marked "Eject" and the evil genius slaps down on it. Mandark's chair gently slides backward into an escape pod hidden in robots head. Once secured safely inside, a hatch swivels open and the pod bursts from the robotic remains, heading north. Alas, the pod only travels five hundred feet before Butch intercepts it and starts to shake it like a box of cereal with a prize inside.

Yelps of pain are heard from within and the young man chucks the pod into the air, shouting, "PULL!"

Knowing exactly what his brother intended, Brick unleashes his eye beams, slicing the top off clean off the machine and Mandark tumbles from the opening, his arms flailing in terror. Springing into action, the teal Puff grabs her quarry by the cape seconds before he hits the ground.

"I think you and I have some business to discuss Susan. This shouldn't take very long at all if you know what is good for you," the woman icily comments, dragging Mandark back to his own company.

* * *

><p>Forced to sit at his desk, Mandark reluctantly reads the forms that are given to him.<p>

Anger flows through his body as he kept reading and having enough of it, slams his hands down on the desk, "I will not sign this travesty of a document! I get nothing for signing over everything to you!"

"That's the idea Susan; you get left out in the cold. I think you will cooperate with me and sign the document since you want to keep your life."

Mandark looks down at the document again and looks at the girl with a pleading look, desperately asking, "I want to keep Ducky with me! She is my pet after all! I can't lose her!"

Leaning as close as she can to Mandark, the cyan haired girl venomously hisses in his ear, "I don't think you are in any room to negotiate for your beloved duck, Susan. No matter how this works out, I win in the end. If you don't sign the document, I can hurt Dee Dee as well and she can join you to die. Now you wouldn't want that now would?"

Mandark's eyes open in terror as he thinks about what Tessa would do to his beloved Dee Dee.

Unable to counter and knowing he was beaten, Mandark sighs, "You win Wren, I'll sign."

Picking up a pen with a shaking hand, the young genius signs the forms.

Setting the pen down, Mandark looks at Tessa scathingly, "That's everything you little witch! Now, if you don't mind moving, I have to leave so I can arrive at my parents van over in the Twisted Forest before nightfall."

With a cruel smile, Tessa snatches Mandark once more by the cape and responds gleefully, "It will be so much faster if I fly you out there!"

Flying through the skylight of the office, the teenage girl quickly flies north passed Foster's and Mount Blackhead. As the forest thickens up, a small clearing comes into view with a brightly painted van and a small pond a few meters away.

"SET ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

"Oh, you want to be set down now? Are you sure about that?"

"YES! SET ME DOWN!"

"Have it your way Susan."

Tessa dips below the tree line at top speed, releasing her grip on the genius. Mandark falls head first into the pond and after becoming disoriented, struggles his way to the surface.

As he crawls onto the grass coughing and spluttering, Mandark catches sight of the teal light trail disappearing and vows, "I will have my revenge on you Tessa. I shall destroy what you want to dispose of the most and I know exactly how to do it."

From his pocket, Mandark takes the padded box, opening it and taking out its contents, "With this vile of Fusion Matter, I shall have the last laugh by destroying Holden! HA ha ha! HA ha ha ha ha!"

The green hue of the fusion matter shines once more onto Mandark's smiling face.

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><p>Did you all enjoy it? How many of you got the star trek reference I made? For anyone who isn't a Dex Lab, the pond Mandark fell into is the same one he was born in to. Well back to Holden next chapter.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7: Flightus Interruptus

****I am deeply sorry for the long delay between chapters. I ran into a rather large computer problem and my old desktop died on me. I even started this chapter back April when it happened. I know some of you must be excited for the next chapter, so here it is.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Flightus Interruptus<strong>

A single leaf drifts aloft upon the wind, twirling and dipping until it gently glides into an untamed mane of fuchsia hair. Yanking the leaf from his hair, Holden maintains his gaze skyward, watching Alice and Gwen release floating multi colored rings of various sizes.

The young man hadn't the foggiest idea to what purpose the rings served, but Holden knew Gwen would inform him once she returned. As banks of cumulous clouds roll across sky, Holden loses sight of his companions, until their outlines appear against the grey clouds, descending towards him.

Landing gracefully upon the soft grass, Alice and Gwen slowly approach the young man.

"Holden, we set up a flight exercise for you. Gwen will explain the rest," Alice softly mentions.

Gwen smiles at Alice in thanks, before she finally speaks, "This exercise will constitute you flying through several rings at top speed. Each ring is worth a certain amount and you can't back track to a ring set that you already passed. You need a score of one hundred to pass. Do you have any questions?"

Thinking for several seconds, Holden nods, finally voicing, "When you mean pass by the ring set, do you mean I just hit one in the set and I can't go back or do you mean something else and what are each ring worth point wise?"

"Those are both good questions. When you near a ring set, you have to try and maneuver through them as quickly and accurately as you can. Once you have gone several feet from them, you aren't allowed to go back. Point wise, there are four types of rings, red rings are worth one point and those are the largest. Blue rings are smaller and worth three, while green rings even smaller and worth five points. The last ring is the teal ring and that is the smallest and worth ten points. If you see one, make sure to go after, since there aren't many of them. I should also mention that if you hit a ring as you pass through it, you will lose half of that rings value."

With his shoulders tensing, Holden gulps and he nervously asks, "I…I understand this is about pushing my limits and learning to control my flying abilities, but isn't this a bit…too advanced? Shouldn't we start out with something a bit easier?"

Pinching the brow of her noise, Gwen explains slowly, "There isn't anything easier that I can think of that can help you learn to fly. This is really the only way to do it, I'm sorry."

"We know flying seems tough, but in the end, it's really not. It becomes natural once you have taken full control of it." Alice chimes in a soothing voice.

Closing his eyes, Holden gives a solitary nod and asks, "Do you at least have a plan that relates to if I start to fall out of the sky for some unknown reason?"

Gwen's eye shine brightly and she smiles, "Ben and Kevin are in charge of that little operation if the need arises. You shouldn't have to worry about that happening though." As Gwen speaks, a soft beep from her nancom alerts her to an important message. Taking the object from her waist, the device blinks to life and a small screen with a weather report pops up.

Groaning, Gwen glances at Holden with an urgent look on her face. "Holden, you need to get into the air now! There is a storm cell heading in our direction with damaging winds. As it is now, you're going to run into turbulence, so you have to compensate for it while you move."

His face hardens into one of determination, Holden floats into the air, "Then I need to make this run count before things become too difficult."

Without saying another word, the young man fires off like a small rocket into the sky, leaving behind an indigo trail. "You planned on him fly during the storm, didn't you?" Alice asks, giving Gwen a sideways glace.

"Yup, it was the only way for him to really learn," The red head answers, smiling lightly as she turns about, heading back to the stadium with her friend. Unbeknownst to the girls, a sickly green shadow stalks slowly behind them, accompanied by one with a cape.

* * *

><p>Having fought through howling winds and lashing rain to ascend to five thousand feet, Holden slowly halts to a hover abreast of the rings.<p>

"Too bad I didn't bring some eye protection with me." Holden muses to no one, brushing hair from his eyes.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Holden beings to slowly glide towards the rings. For Holden, flying has always been a mental block and the fact that he couldn't control how he flew always discouraged him. Opening his eyes, Holden accelerates and corrects for the push of the wind.

Clearing the first ring with ease, Holden flips midflight, changing his course to the ring above. The wind intensifies at that moment, blowing the young hero away from his target. Struggling to regain control, the teenager pushes back against the current of air, trying to stabilize himself, but he is too late.

His midsection colliding with a green structure, Holden gasps for breath, winded from the blow. Unable to clench the object in time, he slips from the ring, falling a fair distance onto a blue ring, hitting his head on the inner edge, knocking him into daze.

The sound of wind rushes in Holden's ears he slowly regains his sense and air slowly filters back into his lungs. Being able to breathe normally again, Holden shakes his head, slowly snapping out of his dazed state and with only a few moments to react, swoops out of his death dive.

Panting, Holden stops where he is and scans his surroundings for Ben and Kevin after discovering that he is above the stadium, only to find that neither hero is in sight, "I thought…Ben and Kevin were…supposed to be here in case I fell."

As he slowly drops to the field, Holden hears the soft sound of footsteps echoing from the tunnel that leads into the stadium. Revolving on the spot, Holden's jaw clenches as Mandark strolls onto the field, a smug smile plastered on his face. "You failed the exercise Gwen gave you. You're just like Dexter, a massive failure."

While he laughs manically, Holden glares at Mandark darkly, hissing, "What did you do Mandark? Where are Ben and Kevin?"

"Those two are in the locker room, with Gwen and Alice, trapped in a magic bubble I created,"

At the word magic, Mandark looks rather disgusted at the use of the word and continues speaking, "They won't be able to help you at all. My ultimate plan will see to that."

As he laughs once more, Mandark throws his cape off and a green blob grazes Holden's ear, slightly burning it. Ignoring the pain that he felt, Holden spins round, only to have his face pale in horror.

Standing in the nose bleed section stands a fusion of Oceanbird, but its body is misshapen and its arm slowly detaches from its body and splashes to the ground, only to have a new arm form.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO MANDARK!" Holden roars in anger.

"What does it look like? I used some of the Fusion Matter I collected to create a fusion of Oceanbird. So it's a little unstable since Fuse is dead. I will correct that problem once you are disposed of and I have my revenge against Tessa! Attack my fusion minion!" Mandark crows as he runs for cover inside.

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><p>The fusion wastes no time in attacking and its arm sprays like a fusion fountain at the intrepid fighter. Holden glides upwards, dodging the corrosive liquid and counters with a sonic scream. Fusion Oceanbird's body pulses in rhythm with the sonic scream and is unaffected by the feeble attack.<p>

Upon morphing its arm into a cannon, the Fusion raises the new weapon, spraying large fusion matter spheroids through the air.

"Yikes!" Holden yelps, struggling to weave back and forth betwixt the spaces devoid of the spheres, but the venomous material still impacts upon his shoulders and chest.

Fusion Oceanbird slowly slushes over the rows of chairs, matter sloshing off its hips and arms, splashing into simmering puddles. Trudging into the stairway, the fusion's left leg slowly tears at the knee cap and the unstable lower leg collapse in a torrent of liquid.

Unable to maintain homeostasis, the fusion wobbles on its lone leg, leaning too far to the right and it crashes to the ground, incapable of replicating a new leg in time. The fusion's body suddenly pulses violently and from its back, small tubes protrude, pointing in all directions.

"I have to put an end to this now or Dexter will have to have to make of Bellwood an infected zone, again!" Holden hooks sharply in the air and dives at the fusion, opening his eyes wide, but it was already too late.

The tubes glow with an eerie green light and seconds later, streams of pure fusion matter burst forth into the sky, mixing with the clouds, which take on a sickly green hue. Barrel rolling quickly, Holden narrowly evades the eruption and continues on to his objective, weaving between the corrosive jets.

The wind howls with ferocity causing the jets to sway slowly.

Unable to dive any further cause of the wind, Holden comes to a gliding stop, speckles of fusion matter rain pelting his face, arms and legs, "This is the only chance I will get with this storm the way it is." Holden seethes, battling through the pain of the fusion matter.

With his eyes glowing a bright indigo, Holden unlashes an onslaught of eye beams upon the unstable beast. Roaring in anger as the beams pierce its weakened body, the matter jets tapper off and the fusion flails about wildly, throwing matter balls in every direction.

Its body pulsing once more, the red eyes of the fusion glaze over and in that instant, the fusion explodes, sending matter flying across the nosebleed section. Exhausted from the battle, Holden slowly drifts to the ground and falls onto his back once his feet meet terra firma.

Enraged, Mandark scampers from the tunnel and stamps his feet, "This isn't fair, you were supported to be destroyed by my minion, not you destroying it!"

Forcing himself to slowly stand, Holden limps over to Mandark, grabbing him by the collar and glaring at him with angry eyes, "You nearly put the world at risk by starting a new war with fusions! Did you want vengeance against Tessa that badly that you would willingly destroy the world and forsake all those you care about?"

Tears well up in Mandark's eyes as he realizes his folly, "What have I done? I could have killed Deedee! What a fool I have been. Now let me go so I can leave!"

Glowering weakly at the genius, Holden eases his grip on Mandark's shirt, whispering softly "You're not going anywhere until you release Gwen and the others from whatever magic you used."

With a weak, fearful gulp, Mandark smiles nervously and marches down the tunnel with Holden tailing behind to block any attempted escape.

* * *

><p>Holden gingerly sits on the couch, as Gwen uses her mana to scan his injuries. Kevin in the meantime had just dragged Mandark out of the room to the awaiting SACT transport outside, while Ben had gone along with them to make a call.<p>

Returning with the first aid kit, Alice deposits the bag upon the floor and worriedly asks "Gwen, do you think he will be alright? Those burns look rather severe."

Gwen nods and smiles reassuringly, "He'll be fine. All he needs is a bit of rest, some of the burn cream and an ice pack for the bump on his head."

Alice smiles lightly at the news, before asking in a more serious tone, "How do you think you did on the test?" "I failed," Holden answered shortly, "I didn't even pass through three rings before I was tossed from the sky."

"Just because you didn't pass my test, doesn't mean you failed to learn to control your ability," replied Gwen with a knowing smile.

Blinking a few times, Holden thinks about what Gwen said and a smile slowly creeps across his face, "I wasn't even thinking about flying when I was trying to survive. I just up and did it without putting any thought into it, just like when I was fighting Fuse. I finally understand what was holding me back the entire time."

Gwen beams at the news and pats his shoulder gently, "Get some rest Holden, you deserve it after all the trouble and learning you did today."

With a nod, Holden leans back on the couch, only to be interrupted by the shrill beep of his nancom from the small table beside him. Forcing himself up, Holden nab the com and his email screen blinks to life. His eyes widen at the news and shows Alice and Gwen the screen, unable to speak from the shock. Buttercup was pregnant.

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><p>I hope you all liked it and that the ending was out of left field. I would like to thank animegirl for beta reading for me again. See you all next chapter.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8: Him's Proposal

Hey Everyone, I got on a roll and decided not to take two week break from writing. Get ready for another Tessa filled chapter. This also marks the return of a character that I just love to use since he fits the bill of what I needed.

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Him's Proposal<strong>

"In other news, it's been three days since Mandark's attempted murder plot against Holden Wren and since the battle; there has been a spike in fusion matter incidents as far away as the west coast. Also, Mr. Wren has been admitted to Bellwood hospital, due to fusion matter burns that were more serious than first thought and related respiratory system problems. We will have more for you as it develops; this has been Numbuh 10 for KND Nightly News."

The TV screen fades to black, allowing Tessa to see her beautiful reflection for a second, before a Yipper commercial airs.

"I'm not sure who is the bigger loser in all that, Mandark or that stupid imperfection. That thing better not die before I have a chance to choke the life from its body! I wonder what else is on," Tessa comments as he looks up at the clock and smiles, "It's almost time for Will Harangue's show. I hope he tries to slander Dexter or that moron Chad Dickson. I still owe him a beating for how he treated me on that last date, four years ago."

The commercial disappears from the screen and is replaced with the face of a man in glasses, "Welcome to the show nation. We got a lot of talk about tonight, one being that freak Holden Wren."

A small box appears in the upper right of the screen with Holden's picture crossed out in it. "Nation, I'll be honest with you. I don't think Mandark had anything to do with that fusion. The entire thing was orchestrated by that freak, just so people would give him attention and treat him like a hero again. Mandark just lost his company to Tessa Wren, so there is no way he could have gotten his paws on some fusion matter. Look at the friends Wren keeps! One of them is Ben Tennyson, who is known to display this behavior! Another is Alice Spacebyte, a known alien with powers that can literally mess with you! She doesn't even need to live here since Fuse was killed! They probably helped Wren steal some fusion matter to create that fusion that he lost control of. Mandark just happened to be watching and was the perfect scapegoat to pin this entire situation on. Nation, people like Spacebyte and Wren need to learn when they are no longer wanted and that they should just leave. I'll let you make up your minds about what you think on the situation, but to me, Wren, Spacebyte and Tennyson are guilty as sin. When I come back, I will have a guest that will give us some psychological input with what is happening in Wren's mind."

Once the program is off air, Tessa erupts into laughter, spluttering a few times to catch her breath, "This is too good to be true! He's actually helping me gain the upper hand again the imperfection in public opinion. I'm interested to see who his guest is."

The screen changes once again and Harangue reappears, sitting across from Van Kliess, "Tonight, we have the well-known ruler of Abysus joining us to talk about Wren. Welcome to the nation Van Kliess."

Van Kliess smiles at his host, replying crisply, "Thank you William. It's a pleasure to be here."

"I have to ask and I know many of my viewers want to know, but what is your take on Wren's mental state?"

"I think the boy is crying out for some attention and the only way he can do that is by lying about a situation that he and his friends created. He has a rather long history of making up stories so people take his side. The entire story about him being abused is a fabrication, his parents, god bless their souls, would never perform such acts as he describes. He even has a penchant for destruction like Rex Salazar, and like the said hero, Wren doesn't even care who is hurt in the line of fire. He even single handedly destroyed Benedict Uno's house during the war and he has not tried to offer an explanation as to why he did so," Van Kliess stops to take a sip of water, before continuing, "Spacebyte is no different from Wren. She lacks a proper parent and acts out because of that fact. It's evident from the damage she caused to Morbuck Manor, which caught fire during the early days of the war. She even permanently disabled their maid during that incident. I even imagine if one digs deep enough, they would discover that she killed her mother and disposed of the body. A fusion had nothing to do with it. These incidents show us who they really are."

Harangue nods intently, "That's some rather deep insight into their dark personalities. We have to go to a commercial folks, but we will be back with more on these menaces to society."

The picture fades from the screen as a red smoke slowly fills the penthouse, obscuring the room.

Turning the television off, Tessa slowly stands from her seat, crossing her arms with a contemptuous look upon her face, "You always pride yourself on manners, but here you are, entering my residence. There is a thing known as knocking Him."

The red haze quickly coalesces, spinning rapidly around until the solid form of Him is standing in the room, a grin from ear to ear. "Where is the fun and chaos of knocking on a simple door Tessa? This way is more fun and it gets your attention much more effectively." Him says in a lull.

"That might be so, but a simple knock would have done the same," the teal terror tersely states,

"What have you come here for?"

"I think you will like to hear this in a more…comfortable setting." The demon drolly replies. With a click of his claws, he and Tessa disappear in poof of smoke.

* * *

><p>The two reappear moments later, in a fancy looking red parlor with cushioned chairs and a long mahogany table. Paintings of worthy villains hang upon the wall, glaring down upon the sinister pair.<p>

"Have a seat and become comfortable Tessa dear. We do not have much time before the others arrive and we can't have them over hearing what I have planned between us." The demon replies, creating a teapot out of thin air and pouring Tessa a cup of tea.

Taking the cup, Tessa purses her lips, slowly sipping the drink, before softly stating, "So what is this about?"

Seating himself across from the evil puff, Him grins and a file appears in front of the demon, which he pushes towards Tessa, "Are you familiar with the fusion wars report 34A-8.1? It's a rather interesting read, especially the part at the end."

Opening the folder, the words classified in bold letters, jumps out at Tessa on the first page, but she ignores this and reads the more important details, "So this plan of yours involves Aku does it? Does it involve something sneaky and underhanded as well?"

Having poured himself some tea, Him nods and explains in a hushed tone, "Of course it does. You are the only one I trust enough to ensure that Aku's powers are…weakened before we reunite him with his body. His essence is rather…viral," Him sips on his tea for a moment, before continuing, "You will need this to contain him."

A small silver flask with a stopper appears on the table and Tessa picks up object, admiring the craftsmanship of it, "And how is this going to weaken that fool?"

Chortling, the demon summons two small bottles, one with a pink liquid inside and another with blood red liquid. "These two potions will create a very powerful weakening agent once they combine. Once Aku has soaked in the pink liquid for a day or so, his powers will begin to diminish. When we have unearthed his body, you just have to add in the red potion first. After that, the real fun can begin."

Tessa smiles deviously, uncorking the pink liquid and pouring it into the flask, "We can't allow him to be more powerful than anyone else we know now can we."

As the last drop slowly filters into the flask, a sharp rapping is heard on the door. Tessa quickly pockets the red potion and takes a drink of her tea. Nodding at the door once, Him uses his magic to throw open the door, allowing his villainous cohorts entry. Eris, Hex, Argost, Demongo and Father filter into the room, taking seats along the table.

"This meeting had better not be a waste of my time Him. I have important work to do."

"I assure you Benedict that you will be back to your makeshift mansion in due course so you can destroy those pesky KND. Hex, have you and Argost found it yet?"

"I have found more useless artifacts then anything! It's impossible to find that wretched thing." Hex growls nastily.

Leaning forwards so his elbows are on the table, Argost places the tips of his fingers together and silkily replies, "I have uncovered a reliable lead that will be more than forthcoming with the exact location."

Eris tittles while she drinks her tea, spilling some on to her toga, "This sounds like a perfect opportunity to spread some chaos."

Him nods eagerly, "I'm sure if you spread a little, Argost's contact would be more willing to open their lips."

"I am pleased that you are all taking the return of my master so seriously, even our newest member Ms. Wren. I will return to the Darklands for now." Demongo snaps as his blue flames envelop his body as he disappears from sight.

"This meeting is over then. I don't mean to poop on your parade Him, but this meeting stinks! Thanks for nothing!" Father shouts, storming from the room.

Hex and Argost follow after him, with large smile at seeing Father angry.

Once the door closes, Eris stands and paces the room, "I see you've given Tessa the flask and the potions. The chaos that is to come is so…palpable. I think I should get home to my Hossy poo so he doesn't become stupid like he normally does." With a soft snap of her fingers, Eris instantly disappears.

Sipping the last ounce of tea from her cup, Tessa pushes her chair from the table, stammering as she speaks, "I'll be going to fetch our little friend and I…I appreciate being included in this plan."

With his chin on his claws, Him smiles, "Oh, think nothing of it my dear. Just make sure to include me if you create any more chaos."

"You won't have to worry about that." Tessa cryptically replies, launching herself through the roof of house as she flies off.

* * *

><p>Leisurely flying over the darkened city of Townsville, Tessa casts her gaze down upon sleepy burg. Not being much of a surprise, there wasn't a lick of activity happening upon the street, except for the police officer sleeping on the corner near the park. Townsville Park had been under reconstruction for the last several months, but the path to the Fissure remained at its center.<p>

The gaping maw is fenced off still with the protective Infected Zone shield and the telepads surrounding that area are without power.

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Tessa smiles smugly while shakes her head, "This won't take long to make Dexdork and Jack look like fools. I doubt they even have a security measure that was meant for me here."

The evil puff rockets downward towards the earth, plowing deep into soft soils and into the Fissure. Moon light filters from overhead, casting eerie shadows over nonfunctional equipment. Looking at her finger nails while gliding to the opposite end of the divide, Tessa blows away any dirt, leaving them immaculate.

Unseen by the girl, a dark cloud drifts around Tessa's waist and head, as if inspecting her and trying to probe her mind.

Now aware of the dark mass trying to invade her mind, the girl drifts to the ground, calling out arrogantly, "Do not try to control my mind Aku; I am not that imperfect fool that you tried to use over a year ago to free yourself. I am a perfect being that cannot be controlled."

The cloud settles in front of Tessa and a deep voice issuing from its depths, "Do not try to act so mighty in front of me girl. I am the great wizard Aku."

"You don't look so mighty to me. You are nothing but shapeless gas without a body."

Vexed at Tessa's audacity, Aku shouts angrily, "You dare defy me? I am more powerful than any being alive."

"If you are so powerful, then you don't need my help getting free. I'll just be on my way while you wallow in this dank hole like the pathetic spirit you are." Tessa turns around, smiling, knowing Aku's next move.

"I take back what I said to you child, if you break this wall and take me to my body."

Tessa spin around, sitting in the air with her legs crossed, "I will only break that wall, if you get into this," She procures the silver flask from her pocket and hold it at arm's length, "I will not allow you to control my body and taint it! Do we have a deal?"

The smoke retreats to the wall and Aku's voice bellows for it, "The mighty Aku agrees to your terms, mortal."

With a yawn, Tessa approaches the wall, flicking it with her index finger. The wall shatters, destroying the vessel behind it. Now free of its bonds, the smoke drifts to the flask and slowly filters inside. Once the last wisp of smoke disappears, the evil puff corks Aku inside, laughing at his stupidity. Her task complete, Tessa leaves through the hole she created and returns to Exervent.

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><p>I do hope you all liked this chapter. I couldn't help but use Harangue and his weapon of choice; Public Opinion. he's so rarely used in stories.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9: Backlash Regrouping

Sorry for the delay, I wanted to get this out sooner, but well life got in the way. I hope you guys like this chapter, I know its short. I do not known any characters in this chapter except Holden. Alice and Kyara belong to my friend Animegirl. If you have any concerns with this chapter, PM me or leave a review and I will get to them.

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Backlash Regrouping<strong>

Outside Bellwood hospital, throngs of reporters and disgruntled civilians march in the parking lot, demanding answers to what really happened with Mandark and the fusion. Police officers were called in hours earlier to prevent the ever growing crowd from rushing the doors, as well as to allow staff and visitors to access the building safely.

As the crowd surges against the wall constructed of SWAT shields, a Providence troop transport arrives, rolling to a stop thirty feet from the front door. A ramp slowly extends as the back hatch opens and Dr. Holiday, along with Rex and Kyara march down it, heading for the hospital doors.

"We don't want your kind here, freaks!"

"Go back where you came from!"

"Wreck someone else's property!"

"You're no good just like Wren!" Protesters shout, hurling tomatoes at Rex and Kyara.

The fruits land on the little girl, covering her and her bear in a thin red paste that stings her eyes. With tears now run down her cheeks as more tomatoes are thrown, Rex covers the little girl, taking the blows in place of his sister. Dr. Holiday quickly grabs Kyara's hand, ushering her inside as a watermelon flies at them.

Building the Smackhands, Rex catches the fruit and tosses it into an empty area of the parking lot, the remains of it splattering on the nearest protesters, "Kel, you owe me for babysitting Kyara while Yuki and Maya are sick," Rex mutters, walking inside and up to the little girl, giving her a hug, "Are you alright?"

The little EVO's hair is full of tomato seeds, while long streams of tomato juice drips onto the floor from her clothes.

Kyara sniffs, looking at Rex, "Why do they hate us big brother? Did we do something wrong? I wish daddy was here."

Rex sighs, patting the girl on the head, explaining the best he could to her, "They think we did something a few days ago related to that fusion. We did nothing wrong though, it's just a misunderstanding."

Holiday shakes her head, a smile on her face, "Knowing your father, he would have gone EVO and tried to scare them, but it wouldn't have gone over well with the public."

Kyara stares up at Dr. Holiday with a curious look, "Grandma, why are we here. Is someone we know not well?"

"We're here to visit Holden. You met him once at his sister's wedding, remember?"

"Oh you mean that boy with the funny pink hair who Arctos said was the same as me?"

Rebecca smiles at the little girl, "That would be him. Professor Utonium asked me to check on Holden since he was just here yesterday. He's worried the media has found a way to get into the hospital."

"Oh." The little girl says quietly, unsure about what she just heard or how to respond. She follows her big brother and Dr. Holiday into an open elevator and the doors slightly close behind her.

* * *

><p>The elevator stops on the fifth floor and as soon as the doors part, Kyara runs out of the cramped box, pulling Rex and Holiday by their hands down the hall. Her teddy bear, Arctos, is safely tucked away in backpack with its head peeking out.<p>

Rex slowly looks down the hallways; most were devoid of life, except for a few Urban Rangers and Plumber milling about, checking windows and other rooms.

Rex faces forward once again as they turn a corner and an Urban Ranger with short spiky hair and a piece of wood in his arms steps in front, "Halt, you don't have permission to…," the boy stops speaking, lifting the piece of wood up to his ear, "What's that Plank, you say they're clear? Well, you would know best buddy. You three can go on ahead."

Moving quickly to the side, Johnny2x4 allows Rex and his compatriots down the hallway. Being the impatient little girl that she is, Kyara pulls Rex and Dr. Holiday down the hall, until a lone Urban Ranger donning an oversized set of braces comes into the view.

"You can go on in. I wonder where Sarah is. She said she was going to bring me something to eat," the boy replies, sliding the door open.

Dr. Holiday enters the pristine white room, which has a slight smell of antiseptic wafting up from the tiles. In the far corner of the room, Alice and Gwen are conversing in low voices and it's apparent that Alice had recently been crying.

In the bed closest to the door lays Holden, who has bandages wrapped around his arms, neck and upper torso. Blossom, who is sitting next to the bed, converses with her boyfriend about a book she had brought him to read the previous day.

"Rex, please take Kyara into the bathroom and clean her off. I need to talk to Holden for a few moments," Dr. Holiday requests in a whisper.

"Sure Doc." Rex exclaims, diverting into the small room that is to right of the entry.

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Rex had closed the door; Rebecca walks to Holden's bedside, sitting in a free chair, "It's good to see you again Holden. How are you feeling?"

"I could be better," he admits, gingerly sitting up in bed, wincing from slight pain from having Fusion Matter pumped from his lungs a few hours before, "All this media attention I'm getting is making me feel uncomfortable. I just want to blend in and go un..."

Seeing the color drains from Holden's face and Blossom thrusts a trash can into his arms. Clutching the object tightly, Holden sticks his head over it and begins to drying heaving several times, only stopping to pant when he is finished.

"Sorry about that Dr. Holiday. I guess the anxiety from Harangue's news report is really getting to me. Alice and I have both received death threats from dozens of people in the last hour. Training would be nearly impossible now."

"Rex went thought the same thing after the incident with Hunter Kain. He pulled through it and I know you will be able to also," Rebecca encouraged, smiling sympathetically at the young man, before turning her attention to the other side of the room, "Alice, Gwen, can you come over here please? This conversation concerns you just as much as it does Holden."

Nearly sliding off the bed in shock, Alice quickly grabs the attached railing to regain her composure. Releasing her hold, Alice slips off the bed as she and Gwen step lively over to Dr. Holiday.

"What did you want to see us about?" Alice queries as she sits on the edge of Holden's bed.

"Gwen, I know you might disapprove of this, but Six considers that it would be for the best if Holden started training with him earlier than anticipated. He and Knight have also discussed about how it would be worthwhile if Holden and Alice talked with _Extreme Expose_ so that they can set the record straight about what Van Kliess said. Knight thinks it would be a perfect PR opportunity for the both of you."

"I would have liked more time to train you Holden, but I think Six is right to push up the time table. There is however one more thing I want to pass onto you the night before you go to Providence." Gwen voices in a relaxed tone.

Holden nods in understanding, opening his mouth to say but, the bathroom door bursts open at that exact moment and Kyara bounds happily out of it and up to Holden's bed, "We're getting a new guest big brother! Do you think he'll play with me while he's with us?!"

With a sheepish grin on his face, Rex exits the bathroom, shrugging at the little girl, "I don't know Kyara, you would have to ask Six about that." Kyara's smile grows even broader at the news and she hugs Rex tightly.

"Isn't there some other way other than going on national television and being in the lime light to fix this situation?" Holden objects profusely.

"Holden, I don't want to be bossy at a time like this, but you should do the interview," Blossom interject, her hand gently cupping his, "I know you're scared, but without a counter argument from you, people will believe what people like Van Kliess and Tessa say!"

Grimacing at the thought, but unable to find an alternative, Holden nods in agreement, "Then I guess I don't have much of a choice, but to do it. Dr. Holiday, when does Six want this interview to take place?"

"In three weeks. By then, he and Knight will have part of your tactical training completed."

At that news, Kyara scowls, "Aww, Grandpa will be keeping my new playmate busy! Arctos even wanted to play with him!" The little girl angrily stomps from the room and Rex runs after her.

"I'm sorry about Kyara; she is never usually like this. She must have really wanted you to play with her," Dr. Holiday apologize, "Holden, I'll be back to see you tomorrow. I'm going to corral Kyara and Rex so we can head back to Providence." Bidding farewell, Dr. Holiday exits the room and quickly runs down the hall, looking for the little girl.

Standing from her chair, Blossom kisses Holden on the cheek, "I need to get going. I'll be staying over at Gwen's house with her and Alice. Sleep tight."

Circling the bed, Blossom follows her fellow heroines towards the door and flicks the switch as she exits, covering the room in darkness.

* * *

><p>Well, that is all for this transitional chapter. As for the next chapter, expect something explosive to happen. Until then, see you guys next chapter.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10: Ascension of Darkness

After taking a small break, coming down with a minor cold and being out of state for a few days, I have finally finished the next installed of this story. I hope you all enjoy it. Comment even if you hate the chapter, I would love to hear from you.

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Ascension of Darkness<strong>

Strolling into Him's Parlor with Fear in her arms and wearing nothing more than a white T-shirt and green short shorts, Tessa glares at Hex and Argost for waking her from her beauty sleep at two in the morning. It had only been a week since Aku was recovered by the teal terror and this news seemed to have spurred on Argost and Hex in their search.

"You'd better have a good excuse for calling this meeting or there won't even be enough of you left for your darling Hope to revive you, Hex." Tessa spits as she selects a seat at the far end of the table, setting Fear in a chair beside her.

With a cute little yawn, Fear opens her amber eyes and peeks over the table, glaring at Hex for taking her away from her nice warm bed.

"This had better be important. You couldn't have called this meeting while my Delightful Children were in school or planning something against Nigel Uno?" Benedict shouts, traversing into the room wearing normal pants with a dress shirt and tie.

The Delightful Teenagers step lively behind their father, quickly finding a seat in a corner.

"I do apologize for the rudeness for the late hour of our meeting Benedict, but it was rather urgent that we call you all here." Argost silkily replies, his chin resting on the edge of his fingers and his lips curled into a devious smile.

"Whatever, you could have been a charming host and given us some coffee or donuts or what not." Benedict complains, reaching for a banana in the fruit bowl.

Before the tips of his greasy fingers can could the fruit, the banana jumps out of the bottle and start spins around the table.

Curious as to what is happening, Fear jumps onto the table and sniffs the fruit. "It smells like that lobster man, but with a sweeter scent." Fear responds a happy tone to her voice.

"What sorcery is this? How is that animal able to speak? I do not see a translation device being used!" Hex snarls as he jumps to his feet, pointing his staff at the little fox's head in one fluid motion.

Entranced by the spinning object, Fear takes no notice of Hex's actions, but Tessa bolts to her feet, malice glowing in her eyes and she venomously growls, "If you even dare plunk a single hair form my baby's back, I will kill you in the slowest and most painful manner I can imagine. The only sorcery in play is your weak excuse for magic. My baby on the other hand has been genetically altered to be more than what she was because of Nergal Junior's negligent actions!"

Glaring daggers at the young upstart, Hex redirects his staff at Tessa's neck, softly hissing, "You are still just a pup, don't dare think you are more powerful than I!"

As the two villains glower at each other in a stalemate, soft laughter filters into the room, causing the inhabitants to look for the source. The melodious giggles grow louder when suddenly, the twirling banana on the table peels apart and Eris sprouts from the fruit wearing a white bathrobe with a pink feather boa wrapped across her shoulder.

"My, isn't this a cozy chaotic welcome from the both of you. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Eris gushes, sauntering away from her appealing entrance and stepping lightly off the table, taking a seat next to Tessa.

Giving the banana peel one last glace, a sudden idea comes to Fear and a grin slowly spreads across her snout. Fear quickly snags the discarded peel and bounds playfully into Eris' lap, licking the goddess face.

Giggling softly, Eris scratches Fear behind the ears and gives Tessa a glance and whispers to her fellow villainess, "I wouldn't have thought she would be so affectionate with me. I think she is planning something."

"If it's something against Hex, I'm all for it." Tessa whispers back, a small smile on her own face.

The door slowly creeks open and Him enters the room, curlers in his hair, a green facial pack smothered over his face and Mr. Quackers in his arms.

The demon silently floats around the table to his seat, sitting down with a dull thud, "What have you gentlemen discovered? IT HAD BETTER BE WORTH WAKING US ALL UP FOR!"

"We found the vessel in which Aku's body is sealed away. We can thank Fuse for providing us a way into the temple and that fool Wren and those insufferable Puffs for unwittingly revealing its location. Fusion wars report 70H-23.293-12 appendix B written by SACT investigator describes the structural damage to the inside of the temple caused by the Puffs and the fusions. The vessel was walled up in a niche behind the alter, which was severely damage and collapsed by a severe shockwave to the floor. My magic even detected something powerful…" The dark sorcerer nearly concludes, when he is cut off by Fear's banana peel being thrown into his mouth.

Laughter erupts from the gallery of villains at seeing someone as powerful as Hex being humiliated.

Spitting the peel from his oral cavity, Hex seethes angrily, his body glowing with a faint blue mana, "I will destroy that creature for making a fool of me!"

"I do suggest you SIT DOWN HEX. You did have that coming because of your earlier actions, isn't that right Mr. Quackers?" Him gleefully voices, giving his rubber duck several squeezes.

Grumbling under his breath, Hex flops into his chair, crossing his arms.

"I don't mean to burst everyone's bubble here," Benedict articulates, lighting his pipe and taking a quick puff from it, "But I think you're forgetting one issue here. What about the security that Dexlabs or SACT has put in place inside the temple?"

Rising from his chair, Argost stalks the room, stopping to grip the back of an empty chair with his long white fingers, "There is no need to be disquieted about such things Benedict. There is a lack of proper protection around our target. Ms. Wren and Eris can waltz right in and revive our ally. It will be as easy as taking a cryptid from right under the noses of those Secret Scientists."

"That's it? I thought there would be something guarding the place like snotty brats or some annoying teenagers. I guess I'll just go home and eat rocky road since this was a waste of time. Come my Delightful Children, it's time to return home."

"Yes Father." The five teenagers reply in creepy unison, shooting out of their chair and racing quickly from the room after their elder.

Rising silently from his seat, Hex taps his staff upon the floor, opening a whirling pink vortex, "I expect Aku will be among us by the end of the night." Hex replies harshly, whisking though the gateway without another word and it snaps shut once the villain is gone.

"I will retire for the night my villainous cohorts. Him has been a gracious host to allow me to spend the evening here. Bon soir." Argost bids in farewell as he slinks into hallway.

The door slowly creeks shut and Him turns to his fellow conspirators, grinning broadly at them, "Are you two ready to start the fireworks? Aku's revival will cause quite the light show and it will be rather spectacular."

Eris enthusiastically nods, "Of course I'm ready Him. A goddess like myself is always ready to cause chaos."

Snapping her finger, smoke wraps around Eris like a scarf, obscuring her from view for over a minute, until the fog fades away, revealing the goddess is in her usual toga with high heels.

"Now I need to go back to my penthouse with Fear to change and grab that annoying flask with Aku in it." Tessa scoffs bitterly as she wafts from her seat towards the door.

Tessa hated to be underprepared for any task and this situation just made the young woman rather steamed.

"There's no need to do that Tessa dear. I can bring you everything you need. Fear can stay here with me, I'm sure the two of us can bond over a movie or a game of chess." Him muses with a sly grin, just as Tessa reaches the door.

A green mist envelops Tessa, blocking her from view and moments later, she reappears in her teal outfit, with the flask in her hands and the blood red potion safely in her pocket.

Tessa smiles broadly and her anger ebbs away, "At least SOMEONE is thoughtful enough to have us be properly prepared. T…Thanks Him."

Eris sashays across the room to Tessa, inspecting her from head to toe and looking rather giddy, "This will be exciting. I can't wait for the two of us to work together on something so evil! The chaos will be delectable!"

"Have fun bonding; I'm sure you will have a great time at the temple." Eris hooks her arm around Tessa's and in a blink of an eye, the two are gone.

* * *

><p>Devoid of human life, Hani Babi temple stands tall in the sharp light shining from the softly buzzing flood lights that liter the grounds. The generators powering said lights reeve loudly as they slowly burn through their fuel supply. Moths flitter between the heat sources, hunting for small insects that would be attracted to this warm paradise.<p>

A soft wind drifts passed the poles and as they sway, the lights flicker several times, casting the complex into temporary darkness. Once the wind stops blowing, the vicious whining of the generator's engines suddenly stop and the lights flicker out.

Soft chirping of the crickets can be heard in the distance, but seconds later, that changes when a sudden loud clap echoes off the walls of the temple. The generators whirl back to life and the lights slowly illuminate the area once more, revealing Eris and Tessa atop the third tier of the temple, staring down the opening into the temples interior.

"Now that is what I call an entrance. Not as flashy as I would have liked, but it's felt like something from a movie!" Eris gushes, flashing a grin at the younger woman.

Tessa shakes her head and sighs softly, "If setting Aku free wasn't so important, that would have been fun. Wait here while I grab the old windbag's coffin."

With that said the cyan hair woman backflips through the hole, into the temple's main chamber.

Landing softly upon the granite stone, Tessa gazes brief at the strange pictograms on a wall, tilting her head in wonder, "This looks like something from an old cartoon. Now to get that vessel and revive Aku."

Turning away from the wall, Tessa slowly floats across the main hall and up to an ornate stone alter. Inscribed upon its surface, are pictograms of Aku's body being sealed away by a man in a robe and another of a large monster fighting a male in armor. The evil girl averts her gaze from the story being told on the slab, to the niche adjacent.

The black and red stone vessel gleams like a silent sentry, basking in the luminesces of the flood lights. Grinning maliciously, Tessa swiftly crosses the remainder of the room to the vessel, placing her hand gently upon its surface.

Finding it cool to the touch, the young woman hoists the coffin upon her shoulder and floats gently out of the hole in the roof.

"One oversized bag of hot air as requested," Tessa teases with a giggle, dropping the vessel onto the third tier landing in front of Eris.

"This is so exciting," Eris shouts gleefully as a ladder appears in front of the vessel, "I can sense the chaos in the air. Tessa, hand me the potion and Aku please. This is the kind of chaos I dream of creating."

"It will be a pleasure to see a master at work." Tessa charmingly replies in a sarcastic tone, handing the blond the two objects.

"If you suck up to me anymore than you are I might blush." Eris coos, accepting the items once she climbs to the top.

Running her hand along the top of coffin, Eris' slips into several large holes drilled into the top, "It seems like someone was careless in creating our friend's shackle."

Carefully uncorking the blood red potion, the chaotic god pours the liquid into the coffin. Within seconds, a sinister maroon light shines through the voids of the coffin.

"I feel like a mad scientist about to create a monster." Eris excitedly exclaims pulling the stopper from the mouth of the flask as predawn light begins to peek over the horizon.

Aku's smoky form flows sluggishly from the jar and twirls several times in midair, before diving through the holes and into the coffin. Seconds later, the top of the coffin crumbles away as a jet of pure blood red light shoots into the sky, soaking everything in a rusty red within miles in it eerie luminance. Five flaming black orbs rise within the pillar, slowly moving towards apex.

* * *

><p>Sleeping soundly in her bed, Juniper hadn't noticed the sky change, but the jewel in the bracelet of the Te Xuan Ze suddenly glows yellow and emits a low pitched sound.<p>

Juniper's eyes snap open and she runs to her window to see the pillar in the distance, "This is bad, very bad. This amount of magic being released can mean only one thing. Something powerful is being released."

Juniper runs to her desk looking for her nancom.

* * *

><p>Tending to his small garden outside Billy's house, Grim is on his knees trimming weeds, when the sky turns ominously crimson.<p>

The reaper reaches into his robes, taking a set of binoculars out, looking intently at the disturbance, "What on Earth is dat? Dis is something new to me. I had better call under da boy at da UTF to find out what dat is."

Stowing the eyewear back in his robes, the skeleton begins to look for his phone.

* * *

><p>Sitting upon the shores of Dinosaur Pass, Samurai Jack quietly meditates, mentally training himself for when he returned to his time to face Aku. As the sky turns a dusty red, the samurai senses something monovalent upon the air.<p>

Jumping to his feet, Jack turns southward, his hand gripping around the hilt of the magic sword tightly, "Aku has been revived! I must inform the Scotsman."

Truing his back to the shore, Jack runs into to the jungle to find a transport back to Townsville.

* * *

><p>Ominous clouds gather around the peak of the column accompanied by loud booms of thunder and flashes of lighting. The mysterious orbs disappear into the clouds; illuminating them in a silver light for the briefest of moments before the orbs fire off in random directions, leaving behind a faint silver trail in their wake.<p>

The pillar of light recedes back into the now smoking vessel and once all trace of it has been lost, Aku steps forth though the haze, cloaked all in black and red.

The wizard gazes up at Tessa and smiles deviously, "You have done me a great service for reuniting me with my body, but now you will become one of pawns! Bow down to me."

Levitating into the air, Aku flies behind Tessa and places his index finger on the side of her neck. Not wanting to be touched by this wizened old man, Tessa jabs her elbow into Aku's stomach, forcing him to the ground.

The wizard glances at Tessa with hate in his eyes. "What have you done to me child? We had a deal."

"It's not what she's done, it's more about what Him, Tessa and I have done," Eris counters, a tone of relish in her voice at seeing Aku so weak, "We knew you would try this if you got free, so Him wanted to level the playing field with you by severing a few of your powers and sending them out into the world to create a bit of chaos. If you play nice with all of us, maybe we will even help you get some of them back. All you need to do is work together with us. Even your servant Demongo is working with us."

"If my minion is working with you, then I will as well."

Eris grins at the news, "Great, now let's head back to Him's for some waffles." Eris clicks her heels together thrice and in a flash, the trio disappears.

Sitting at picnic table in the predawn light outside Mr. Smoothies, Gwen, Alice and Holden eat a quick breakfast while waiting for Six to arrive. The three had just witnessed the strange events of the sky turning blood red, but didn't think anything of it and continued to eat. "So, what was the last thing you wanted to teach me Gwen?" Holden asks after several minutes of silence.

"There isn't much else I can teach you except to try not to rush too much with your powers. If you rush, you will make mistakes and that could lead to a disaster. Think Ben when he tries to use Feedback."

Alice smiles lightly and replies softly, "Gwen taught me that lesson early on when I first learned about my powers. It saved my life a few times," Alice looks up into the sky and spies a sliver light speeding across the horizon, "It looks so pretty. I wonder if it's from a meteor shower." Alice wonders aloud, slowly strolling into the parking lot, mesmerized by the beauty of the object.

The light slowly arcs in the air, changing its intended course.

Having noticed the objects odd behavior, Holden stands up abruptly, "Gwen did you just see that? That can't be a meteor."

"I did, whatever it is, it can't be good. We need to stop it."

Forming several pink disks, Gwen tosses them at the object, hoping to knock it down, but misses several times. Opening his eyes wide, Holden tries to get a bead on it with his eyebeams, but is unable to find a clear shot.

As the object creeps closer, its speed increases and the silver light melts away, revealing a black orb. Alice's eyes open wide, reflecting the black object in her aqua blue eyes. Unable to move in time, the orb crashes into Alice, transforming the girl.

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><p>AN: Well everyone, I hope this has been enough of a cliff hanger to make you wonder what will happen next and leave you wanting more. Eris was rather enjoyable to use and she has so many possibilities. See you all next chapter.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11: Aliku

Sorry once again for the delay between chapters, I've been distracted with life. I managed to type this while I was away from home and I hope you guys like this chapter. Please enjoy the chapter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Aliku<strong>

Alice's once blue hair has turned silver and her eyes are now a crimson red. Her skin has become pale green and her clothes are pure black.

"I am Aliku! All mortals will bow before me or you will meet your demise!" The girl's voice booms as dark blue flames leap from her hands and dance in her palms.

Holden's eyes dart to the left, quickly look at Gwen nervously and then back at his former friend, "Gwen, what is this power? Do we even have a game plan to undo what happened?"

Stepping away from the freighting power emanating from the girl, Gwen glances sideways at Holden, fear etched in her voice, "I can only guess at this Holden, but the mana that I sense from her is demonic in origin. It isn't related to Him or Eris so that would…" Gwen voice slowly trails off as a sudden thought comes to her and she grimaces.

She knew of only one other being just as powerful as Him, but it was preposterous to even ponder, but the proof was standing across from her. Aku had been released.

"Gwen, we need to move!" Holden calls out, cartwheeling into the sky and out of harm's way, as jets of blue flames burst forth at the teens.

Acting on pure reflexes, a wall of mana erupts out of the ground at Gwen's simple gesture and the flames strike the energy, creating a large crack in the center.

"Holden, I need you create a distraction once this wall is nearly broken! I'm going to call Jack and confer with him if this has something to do with Aku." Gwen projects loudly as the crack spider webs across the pink obstruction because of the ferocity of the heat.

"You had better make it quick Gwen," Holden hollers from above, covering the red hair, while preparing to counter attack, "I won't be able to stall her for that long."

The situation made Holden's stomach churn, leaving him feeling disquieted, especially since he was about to launch an all-out offensive against a close friend of his.

"You can do this Holden. You fought Fuse head on, not knowing about your powers. If you could do that, then you can handle this situation. Just trust your instincts like you did back then." Gwen yells from the ground as the wall begins to reach its limit.

The truth of the words resonates within Holden being, causing all his fears to vanish in that instance. Half smiling in thanks, the boy soars skyward several meters, before turning around and vertically diving at Aliku, kicking her in the side of the head and stopping her attack on Gwen.

Flying backwards through the air, the possessed female breaks through the wall of Mr. Smoothie's, colliding with a machine full of mango flavored liquid, which bursts like a mini volcano.

Struggling to break free of the defunct smoothie machine, Aliku growls angrily as the peach colored fluid pours down her green skin and onto her clothes, staining them, "That mortal will be the first to feel my wrath and I will kill him slowly and painfully!" Finally pulling her arm free, Aliku smashes the rest of the smoothie maker and slowly floats back towards the parking lot.

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><p>Just as Holden kicked Aliku into the shop, Gwen's shield of mana collapses from the damage and slow crumbles to the ground, instantly blinking out of existence. Knowing she didn't have any time to waste, the young plumber dashes pass Levin's car and crosses the street into a small alleyway to make her call.<p>

Holden slowly descends to the asphalt, watching the hole like a hawk for the evil girl and soon enough, Aliku floats from the hole in Mr. Smoothie, slowly clapping her hands, mockingly, "Do you really think a weakling like you has even a chance to defeat me? By hurting me, you hurt your little friend Alice. Do you really want to take that chance? I will see to it that you die painfully because of your unwillingness to hurt her." The demon girl spouts, smiling smugly at the semi super powered male.

"I'll do what I have to do to expel you from my friend, even if I have to hurt her. I know she will forgive me for doing what has to be done." Holden said in a calm, yet firm voice.

This was of course a bluff, but one that was worth it to keep Aliku's attention centered on him. The smirk on the demon's face grows bigger as her hands twitch slightly and in a sudden flurry of movement, she throws a telekinetic spear at her adversary.

Wrenching his head to the side with seconds to spare, the spear scrapes Holden's right cheek, leaving behind a thin gash oozing blood and a sore neck.

Fear appears in the boy's eyes for a split second, only to be replaced with a look of resilient defiance, "I've seen better spear throws from Buttercup and her aim is so much worse than yours. Want me plaster a target on my chest or on my arms?" Holden taunts in a banter-like tone.

Inside, the young man mentally grimaces to what he had said. Playful banter was Buttercup's and Ben's kind of thing since they excelled at aggravating their foes.

The smile on Aliku's lips vanishes, turning into a snarl, while the look in her eyes turns into one of pure animosity. "You dare compare my power to that pugilistic Puff? I will show you how wrong you are as I rend the flesh from your bones!" The demon woman screams in a sinisterly deep tone as she raises her hand above her head.

Aliku's shadow is ripped from the ground, swirling through the air and into her hand, slowly transforming into a blade of shadows, "This is Varjostaja! The blade that this girl was entrusted with has been transmuted into an instrument of doom!"

The sword pulses with a sinister vitality and the girl slashes the blade vertically through the air, unleashing a telekinetic wave soaked in darkness. The tip of the arching attack slowly traces across the ground, transforming the solid surface into a line of steaming stone.

"Oh crap!" Holden expresses in surprise, quickly racing through the parking lot. The boy didn't have the foggiest idea if his body could stand extreme heat like Blossom or his sisters could, but now wasn't the time to find out.

With the end of the parking lot in sight, the fuchsia haired boy comes across Kevin's car and he skids to a halting, just short of slamming into the hood. Frantically, Holden looks over his shoulder, cringing from the pain in his neck for a split second, then back at Kevin's ride.

Observing the reflection of the attack in the windshield, a sudden idea bursts inside his brain.

"Sorry to do this Kevin, but your car is going to save my butt." Holden whispers to himself, watching the darkness grow in the glass.

As the last sliver of blue sky wanes upon the reflective object, Holden swiftly pirouettes in a graceful half arc, stopping just beside the right wheel well. Seconds later, a loud hiss filters into the air as the vehicle is guillotined in half and then the burst of power evaporates. The two halves slowly sway, before they tilt inward and fall onto each other with a dull thuds.

Clapping softly, Aliku sits upon one of the tires with her legs crossed, smiling intently at the boy, "You are more resourceful than I have given you credit for. I may just turn you into my personal play thing instead of just killing you outright. Just give up now and become my minion the easy way."

Opening his eyes wide, the young man's arms quiver in shock and he slowly turns to face the demon girl. How…how did she get behind me? Holden contemplates; his mind racing frantically as he tries to figure out what powers could have been bestowed upon Alice if this was indeed something related to Aku.

With no answers coming to him, Holden grasps the underside of Kevin's car, lifting it over his head, preparing to toss it at his foe. Aliku shakes her head with a light smirk on her face and quickly flicks her eyes upward. The chunk of car flies from Holden's grip, high into the air, only to stop for the briefest of moments, before screaming towards the ground at the speed of sound.

Knowing he will not be able to move in time, the young man puts his arms over his head as to repel the onslaught of metal coming at him. The car collides with Holden, flatting him into the pavement, before slowly being lifted off him and tossed aside like a piece of paper.

"Just give up now and pledge yourself to me. There is no way you can win." Aliku taunts from the pipe above having just appeared moments before.

Holden staggers to feet, blood freely dripping from his arms as he fights to stay conscious.

He didn't have any idea how much energy he had left, but he wasn't about to give up, "Don't…don't count me out yet! I…I won't go down to the likes of you!" Holden shouts with resolve in his voice and he slowly raises his hand.

From his palm, a hazy wave of multicolored energy charges at the demon, striking her in the chest, but nothing seems to happen.

"That was your big gambit? Some plasma…" Aliku speaks, but stops as her eyes bug out and she clutches her head, falling to the ground.

Holden falls to his knees, panting heavily as he looks unto Aliku. In that moment, the possessed girl's features slowly change and her once blue hair returns.

"Holden, are you alright?!" A voice shouts and Gwen jumps into the hole next to him.

"I'll be fine; I don't think a ten hour nap would go amiss after what just happened," Holden lightly gasps as he struggles to stand and looks at Alice with concern, "Gwen is she going to be alright?"

"I think Alice will be alright," the red head utters, placing her arm under Holden's to support him, "I sensed a slight disruption in the flow of mana energy coming from Aliku and I came to check. Do you have any idea what caused this?"

"From what Aliku last uttered, I used some plasma, but I have no idea if that caused the dip in her energy."

"Didn't you use plasmatic energy when you took out Fuse?" Gwen questioned, slowly putting pieces of the puzzle together.

"That is what Dr. Holiday and Dexter told me from the data they had collected." Holden softly raspy as he and Gwen hear the sudden sounds of stirring and look towards their fallen friend.

Pushing herself up onto her knees, Alice slowly stumbles to her feet, looking around fearfully at the damage she initiated, "Holden…you…you're alive."

With tears rolling down her face, the young woman runs over and hugs her friend tightly, digging her head into his chest and continues to whimper, "I…I thought I wouldn't regain control of my body at all and I would kill you! Whatever you did, set me free of whatever mental prison I was in and allowed me to retake control."

"Alice, none of this is your fault. The fault lies with those who revived Aku," Gwen explains soft as she places her hand on Alice's shoulder, "I managed to get in touch with Jack and he confirmed my suspicions. I'm sure he will be able to figure out how to get that chunk of Aku out of you."

Alice looks to her friend, wiping her eyes, "You…you really think he can?"

"Jack is rather knowledgeable when it comes to the subject of dark magic like Aku's and so is Juniper Lee." Gwen replies with a nod of affirmation.

Alice smiles at her friends in thanks, grateful for the support they showed to her after that horrible incident, "Thank you Gwen. Um, can we get out of this hole?" the young teen asks.

With a nod, Gwen forms a pink platform beneath the three and it slowly rises out of the hole, depositing them in the battered parking lot.

"It seems your ride is here Holden," Gwen states, pointing to the Providence jump jet in the distance, before glancing at Holden and gapping in shock. "Alice, are you seeing what I am seeing?"

The girl nods, taking a compact from her pocket, "Holden you…you need to see this. This might be an after result of what you used on me."

"Do I have something on my face or something? Do I have some kind of weird scrap or something?" The boy asks and takes the compact, gazing into it.

What he sees nearly sends him into a double take. His eyes had changed from their normal blue to indigo.

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><p>Well Holden now has his special ability, thought I don't plan to use it for awhile. Next chapter expect some fun with Rex and Noah. If any of you have anything you would like to comment on, don't be afraid to drop me a line.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12: Basic, Again

I must apologize to those of you that read this since I haven't updated in awhile. I once again got busy and had some other thing to do. Even wrote up some minor oneshots. I hope you all like this chapter.

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Basic, Again<strong>

The jet's interior lurches slightly, jostling its accompaniment and Holden slowly opens his eyes, having just awakened from a short nap, "We can't be there already, can we?" the boy asks looking at his nancom's clock, discovering he had only been asleep for thirty minutes.

"This jet was just a short pit stop for you," The pilot replies, flipping a switch, "Where we are now is the real ride."

Hissing softly, the hatch lowers slowly and a brilliant light floods the cabin, forcing the young man to shield his eyes.

"Welcome to the Keep kiddo," A voice calls out and a silhouette of man becomes discernible against the light, "Six thought the trip would be better suited in this mobile fortress of ours."

Holden blinks several times as his eyes slowly adjust to the light. Once they do, he makes out what is standing before him; a tall middle aged man in Providence fatigues with blond hair and a scar under his left eye.

"Hi um…who are you exactly?" The boy questions holding out his hand to shake hands with the elder male.

The man shows no emotion, but shakes hands, "The name's Calan, Captain Calan to my men in Providence. Grab your gear and follow me." The man pronounces with a now discernible Southern drawl and turns on his heel, leaving the craft.

Hoisting his duffle bag from the rack above and swinging it over his shoulder, Holden disembarks from the jet, but stops halfway down. Standing at the bottom of the small ramp are two Providence grunts with their rifles at the ready. Not wanting to appear nervous, Holden quickly slouches past them, but soon, the sounds of their footsteps echo behind him.

Rather unhappy at the lack of any explanation to why they were being followed, the boy stops in his tracks with a frown, jabbing his finger over his shoulder, "Calan, why do we need these two following us? I feel like Six is trying to treat me like a child…or Rex in this case."

The Providence captain turns slightly to look at the boy, shrugging his shoulders, "It's Six's orders kiddo. He doesn't want you to waste time on sightseeing. He thought the best way to deter you from that action was to have some extra guards along."

Turning around once more, the captain forges ahead into a corridor, leaving Holden to grumble, dissatisfied with the answer as follows. The hallways, as with everything that was made for Providence is pure white and dulling looking. The young man scans the walls for a hint of the direction of the bridge, but the walls had no such writing or signage upon them.

As the small group passes by their fifth intersection, the young man catches a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and he spins on the spot. Two long cyan pigtails flash out of sight around the corner and within moments, soft whimpering echoes from that hallway.

The young man slowly walks off towards the sound, but Calan places his hand on Holden's shoulder to stop him, "Best to leave my niece Maya alone kiddo. You scared her something good just now, I'll tell her brother to come find her."

The man motions for the group to follow once more and they slowly trek away, while Calan sends a message on his nancom.

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><p>With his glasses glinting in the morning sun, Six watches the clouds roll past the window and upon hearing a soft whoosh, he turns around to see Captain Calan's party board the bridge.<p>

"Good to see you finally made it. We need to talk about your training; there has been a small change in the program I had planned for you."

"What kind of change are you making Six?" Holden asks bewildered as to what exactly the change could be.

The green ninja looks directly at Holden, a tiny smile apparent upon his features, but it fades as he walks towards the boy, "Your new training will include Providence boot camp. You will learn everything that the agents learn while you are there, including strategy. Rex, Kel and Noah will be joining you on this endeavor."

The pink haired man crosses his arms, knowing something was up, "What aren't you telling me?" Holden couldn't help but feel there was a catch to all this.

"The thing Six isn't telling you is that he and I have a bet going Wren," A familiar voice shouts from across the room and a chair spins around to reveal Rex grinning like a fool, "He bet that you could do the program in three and a half day without your powers, out staging how good I am. I bet him that you wouldn't even make it through the entire seven days."

"THREE DAYS!" Holden shouts in astonishment, his voice cracks, "There is no way I can do it in half the time."

What were these two thinking? There was no possible way that he could even complete such a program in that time. His hands being to shake and sweat drips from his forehead, as he gulps out of being blindsided like this.

Strolling over to Holden, Six places his hand on the boy's shoulder, betraying little emotion in the process, "I have the utmost confidence that you will be able to do all the training within the limited time."

Snickering uncontrollably, Rex rises from his chair and walks over to the two, his hand shoved into his jacket pockets, "Believe what you want Six. I doubt Wren will last a full day, not after the exercise portion anyway."

"You're not making me feel any better Rex. What do they do for the exercise portion?" Holden replies darkly, glaring at Salazar and wondering what he was going to be subjected to.

"Oh they just make you run until you're tired." Rex replies with a large grin, not wanting to tell his friend the truth.

Ignoring Rex's grin, Holden sinks into a chair, gazing up at Six for answers, "What will the rest of my training consist of after this boot camp?"

The boy had his suspicions that the nanny ninja wasn't going to be forth coming in contrast to Gwen when it came doweling out information.

"Once you've completed boot camp, the rest of your training regimen will be revealed. Once you start your training, you can quit at any time by taking the long walk down the stairs. That's all I have to say, both of you are dismissed to do what you need to do for the next several hours."

"Come on Holden, you and I are going to play some basketball," Rex announces wrapping his arm around the elder teen's shoulder and leaning in close with a mischievous grin. "You still owe Noah and I for that game you skipped when you were running around playing war leader."

Tightening his grip around Holden's shoulder, Rex leads his companion out of the room before he could protest.

* * *

><p>The air is thick with the dust the next afternoon as Holden and several new recruits race around the camp's perimeter. The day, if you could call it that, had started with a literal rude awakening at midnight of the young hero by Providence boot instructor, Sargent Hutton.<p>

The drills at first consisted of primarily physical exertion of pull ups and pushups, but this was complicated by the drill instructor barking orders, trying to make people crack to take the stone steps. With everyone pushed to the point of mental exhaustion, Hutton moves the group into a classroom, having them begin to construct stun weapons.

At every chance, the drill instructor would insult the green personnel, causing them to break components or install a part in the wrong place. At the end of all that work, none of the weapons functioned properly. Due to Rex's interference, Holden's weapon backfired and he was zapped into a wall, giving the entire group of greenhorns a laugh.

"Hey Wren, you should stop looking at the ground and watch where you are going." Noah calls out, passing by his friend.

Snapping his head up instantaneously, Holden slows his pace to prevent crashing into Rex, who, like Noah, had been running backwards like it was nothing.

"Thanks…for the heads…up." The teen wheezes, gasping for air as streams of sweat flow from his brow.

"Someone has to make sure you don't make a fool of yourself," Rex muses, trying not to laugh at the boy's predicament, "See you at the finish line."

The two teens turn around, running off to join someone farther down the track. Increasing his pace once again, the pink haired boy traverses several steps, only to have his face turn green seconds later and he collapses to the ground, hurling the lunch he had just consumed.

"Did you just puke all over my lawn maggot?!" Holden winces at the shout, knowing it was Sgt. Hutton.

"I…did sir. Sorry…sir," the young man splutters, trying to get his feet his while body shakes, "It won't happen again."

"I don't want excuses! I want you to run or head to the stone steps." Hutton moves off barking instructions to the other recruits.

Falling back onto his knees, the young man quivers as he takes several deep breaths.

"Hey pinky, it looks like you could use some time to cool off."

Seconds later, a large amount of water douses Holden and the boy falls onto his back. On the cliff above that overlooks the track, sits Bobo Haha, who had a large bucket next to him.

"Thanks Bobo, I needed that." The boy says sarcastically through gritted teeth, finally getting to his feet.

Bobo snickers at the sight below and decides to voice what's on his mind, "Maybe it's for the best if you just quit pinky. It's not as if you're cut out for this stuff. See ya around."

The monkey snickers once more and snuffles off. Knowing what he had to do, Holden wonders off looking for the long climb down.

* * *

><p>Having come to a stop at the very top of the stairs, Holden looks upon the journey in front of him. It would take at least an hour to descend to the bottom and contact Six. Breathing out slowly, the boy strolls down the first step.<p>

"I know I said you could quit at any time, but I didn't say I would allow it."

Opening his eyes wide in shock, Holden turns on the stop, looking over at Six, who is leaning against a stone wall. "How long have you been stand there Six?"

"I've been here at boot camps since you got off, someone had to make sure Rex was playing fair and apparently he and Noah haven't. They've been working with Hutton to make you quit."

"What do you suggest I do? Get someone on my side and play dirty like them? That's not really my thing Six."

Holden was adamant about not getting back at the two, but a new fire had just been lit in his eyes, one that was determined to prove Rex's bet wrong.

"You don't have to play dirty all," The sixth most dangerous man states, smiling for several seconds, "All you need to do is demand to be let in the Cage two days from now and prove that you have what it takes to pass basic. That will shock Hutton, Rex and Noah when you do."

Holden blinks at the suggestion, but can only nods.

"If that's the only way to do it, then that's the path I have to take," The teen say walking past Agent Six, but stops for a moment and smiles at the man, "Thanks for the pep talk."

The young man walks off back towards the training area as Six watches, the sun glinting off the lenses as Six smiles, having given new hope for his trainee.

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><p>Once again I am sorry for the delay of this chapter. I named this chapter partly after ep 17 of Gen Rex, thus why its called what its called. If anyone is wondering about Maya, she is an OC of mine that sprung out of a Gen Rex RP I do here on the site. Please say what you liked, what you hated or anything in between. If you have questions or anything else you wish to say please PM.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13: The Cage

Sorry for the long delay on this chapter, life has once again gotten in my way. I will be quick hopefully with the next few chapters please enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: The Cage<strong>

Having been in silence most of the day, a dingy looking alley in Hong Kong is suddenly thrown to life with loud noises of machinery breaking down. Standing dead center is Rex, who lifts the goggles from his eyes, placing them on his forehead.

"Never thought I'd be back in Hong Kong so soon. It doesn't even look like this place has seen any construction work since the war ended. " mutters the boy in soft contempt, as he walks into a large open area where a food vendor usually set up shop.

As Rex passes by, the woman behind the cart gazes at him, saying something in the local Cantonese dialect. Rex replies in the same manner, but keeps on walking into another set of alleys. He knew better than to eat something from the vendor, due to Bobo having gotten food poisoning from their last trip here.

His real reason for visiting his old haunt and skipping out on a night of sleep at Providence Boot was to visit his old pals from back in the day and ask them for a small favor.

The EVO boy strides on in silence for several minutes, stopping to frown at poster for EVO boxing, "Oh come on!" Rex shouts indignantly, "West will totally decimate Grayson. His hands are made of freaking steel!"

Grumbling to himself about the poster, the EVO journeys several more paces, but stops upon realizing he was lost, "Maybe I took a wrong turn or something? I knew I should have just flown over to the water tower instead of walking."

Now rather embarrassed, Rex rubs the back of his head, looking rather sheepish. Turning around, Salazar strolls down another side alley when something comes into view.

"Finally," Rex happily exclaims, running to a lone fire escape that had the markings of his old gang on it.

With a smirk, Rex grabs onto the rickety handles and slowly begins his climb, ignoring the sound of groaning bending metal.

* * *

><p>Knocking thrice upon the makeshift door to the water tower that his friends called home, Rex taps his foot impatiently, waiting for someone to answer.<p>

The door grinds open a crack and a green eye peeks through it, "REX!" shouts the female voice and the door swing fully open to reveal a teenage girl with olive colored skin and magenta hair.

"Hey Cricket, how you been?" Rex gives her a dashing grin and a hug.

The girl blushes, but begins to play with her hair, "I'm…fine. So, um what brings you here today?"

"I need a rather big favor. Can we go inside and talk about this? I'm not big on one of Quarry's goons dropping in unannounced."

Cricket smiles and moves aside, making sure her spikey arm weren't in the way. "Sure, Skwyyd is here, but Tuck is out right now."

"Where is he?" Rex scoots inside waiting for the answer.

"He's at a movie." Skwyyd answers from the couch, "I don't know who really is in it, other than some guy named Dante Basco."

"Rex, what is this favor you need from us?" Cricket's eyes are full of concern and she sits next to Skwyyd.

Rex gives them a devious grin, sitting in a chair opposite them, "The favor I need from you both is to come with me to Providence Boot. I have a friend who will be entering the Cage and I need you two to help me push him to his limits. I bet Six that he wouldn't make it through boot and if he completes the Cage, Six wins." His voice had a hint of defeat as he finishes speaking.

"Anything we should know about the person we're going to help you fight?" The octopus headed teen asks.

"He has mild super powers that aren't that strong. The most he can do is knock you silly with a punch. His eye beams are the only thing you would have to worry about. Cricket would be able to outpace Wren since he's so slow." The EVO chuckles slightly at the last part, since it was somewhat true.

"I doubt she would be able to outpace the guy that easily Rex." Skwydd cynically answers, but stands up with a smile, "I'm in regardless; this sounds more fun than staying here."

Cricket jumps to her insect like feet, giving a fist pump, "And so am I! The three of us should be a match for this Wren guy."

"Thanks guys, I'll make this up to you in some way." Flashing a not so charming smile at his friends, Rex quickly touches the comlink in his ear, "Send down the jumpjet, we have two passengers ready for pick up."

After a moment of listening to the person on the other end, he nods, taking his hand from his ear and looking back at his friends, motioning with a jerk of his head that it was time to go.

* * *

><p>"Alright maggots, listen up! We'll be dissecting these giant insect EVOS today. If you do not use the right tool, you will be squirted with insect juice. If you maggots cut in in the wrong place while using the right tool, you will be squirted! Do not make me put you in the shower because you can't follow a simple dissection with a large circular saw!" Hutton barks as yet another recruit makes the wrong incision with their dissection.<p>

This was the fifth time someone had messed up during this lesson and someone else was bound to mess up due to fear. Rex and Noah are of course done with theirs and were sitting back with their feet on the table, laughing riotously.

"I don't know what you two maggots are laughing at," Hutton screams right in there hears out of the blue, "But I suggest you make yourselves useful and help them get it right!"

Rex and Noah snap to attention, giving Hutton salutes as he speaks. "SIR, YES SIR!" The two shout in unison and promptly smash into each, falling to the floor in a heap of limbs.

Chuckles echo across the room from the recruits, but die down once Hutton glares at them, "Alright maggots, gets back to work, unless I call your name for the Cage or feel like you just want to fail early!"

The sergeant glances down at his electronic pad, which didn't have a single name on it. "I guess I won't have to worry about sending any of you maggots there today, unless one of you wants to step up."

The room falls dead silent, only for it to be interrupted by a soft clang from the corner. "I'll do it! I'll step up and go into the cage; I'm done with the dissection anyway." The recruits look at each other in disbelief and murmur to each other.

"You sure you want to do that Wren? You've only been at Boot for 3 days," Hutton snaps, marching back to look Holden in the eyes. "You are either unreasonable or have guts of steel. You sure you still want to do this maggot?"

Holden nods, dropping his scalpel into a metal pan with a defiant look in his eyes, "Nothing is going to change my mind on the matter. I will fight whatever is in the Cage and I'll pass this program."

"Then get out of here maggot and pick up your stun rifle and baton in the armory! Make that on the double too!"

Holden scowls once more at the man and skedaddles out of the room.

With a large grin, Rex punches his fist into his open hand, "This is going to be so much fun. Come on Noah. You have to watch what is coming."

"I'm right behind you Rex." The two boys slip quietly, heading right for the Cage.

Hutton, smirks to himself, taking noticing of the empty seats. "Wren is in for one nasty surprise from Rex. That kid best be up for it. Alright maggots, DISMISSED!" The wary recruits half-heartedly salute Hutton as they head outside to watch the show.

* * *

><p>Deciding to make one last check of his equipment outside the door to the Cage, the pink haired adult unfashions the stun baton from his belt, flick the small switch with his thumb and forefinger. The rod hums and crackles with vitality as the low voltage of the weapons arcs across its surface.<p>

Satisfied that it was in working order, it was switched off with soft click and Holden turns it to the belt and looks to the Taser rifle hanging in his arms. Unlike most rifles Holden had used in past, this weapon acted just like a long range, if not, imperfect version of a taser gun.

Knowing that he can't delay forever, Holden strides shakily to the door of the Cage; gulping rather nervously. _Be thankful no one can see the fear in your eyes Holden. Buttercup would be laughing at you right now for it. _He thought to himself as the door silently opens and the man enters the arena like space.

Sunlight filter thought the laser mesh like roof, allowing shadows to be cast about. The alcoves that line the side of the area are empty and look as if something is supposed to be in them.

"Alright maggot," Comes the echoing voice of Hutton from the PA system, "You wanted this test and you got it. Enjoy the beating."

As Hutton's voice dies away a door at the far end slowly grinds open, casting a bright light out of it. Shielding his eyes, the eighteen year old squints at the open; making out three silhouettes moving towards him.

Unable to figure out if the other party had made an opening move, Holden shifts his eyes away for mere seconds, switching on the rifle's power and upon looking back; a black inky fog is bearing down upon him, surrounding him moments later.

Spluttering profusely, the teen blunders through the fog; only able to see several inches in front of him, trying to find his way out. Suddenly, a soft female laugh catches Holden's ear and he spins around, only to find nothing there.

"Great, I'm chasing…" A large orange fist cuts through the mist, smashing the boy in the gut before he could finish his sentence and he flies out of the fog, landing roughly on his back, only to have an olive skinned EVO jump out of nowhere and use his gut as a trampoline for several seconds before it jumps off.

"So that's what it feels like to be hit by a pile driver." Holden utters in a daze, seeing stars in his field of vision as he slowly wobbles to his feet, nearly falling down at one point as he moves away from the impression in the dirt.

"Hey, Holden, you alright there buddy? You want me to call you a medic or something? That sure looked like it hurt" Rex's taunt helps snap Holden out of his daze and he glances to where his friend stands. "I thought this was supposed to be a one on one fight, me against some EVO, which I take, is supposed to be you."

The boy shrugs like it didn't even matter, "Thought about fighting you alone, decided it would be more fun with friends. So it's against the rules, not a big whoop. It's not like Six is going to find out that I cheated on our bet."

"As the old saying goes, cheaters never prosper Rex!" Ripping the baton from his belt, the boy quickly scrutinizes his surroundings for the other EVO adversaries, taking his attention away from Rex. Said EVO lifts his arm into the air, forming the Slam Cannon and the back reaches back, loading up a rather odd looking olive colored stone.

"You should learn to pay attention to what is in front of you!" Rex hollers, a targeting rectal pops out of the cannon, centering on Holden.

With a wide grin, Rex fires off the rock, but midflight the rock uncurls revealing it to be the olive skinned EVO, her feet pointed right at Holden's chest.

Glowering darkly at Rex, the boy grips the baton tightly in his hands and he widens his stance, having his weight evenly distrusted on both his sides. _I hope I've timed this right! If it works, I might hit her back into Rex. At least I think it's a girl. _

The adult thinks and he swings the baton with all his might at Cricket. The weapon smacks the girl's ankle, diverting Cricket off to Holden's side, but her flailing hand smacks the weapon from the hand of the boy, sending it flying towards Rex.

Skwydd slides out of an alcove and grabs the baton with one of his many tentacles, "I'm going to make you regret hurting her."

Without warning, Skwydd's tentacle holding the weapon extends at high speeds at Holden, jabbing him in the shoulder. Holden screams as the electrical output from the weapon flows through his body and as the shock subsides, the boy falls onto one knee, panting softly with beads of sweat drop from his brow.

"Rex, just finish this fight. I'll lay down cover for you." The octopus EVO shouts, pointing his tongue at Holden and a black inky mist slowly surrounds Holden once more.

With his heart beating quickly out of fear, the man grabs the rifle from his back and fires in a random direction, but all the gun does is spark, dying with a whine. Grunting softly, Holden throws the rifle at the wall and stands up once more. If he was going to lose, he would do it fighting hand to hand.

"There is no way you can beat me in this fight Holden," Rex calls through the fog, "That is unless you cheat, but I know you don't want Six to know you did that."

Laughter echoes all around the pink haired fighter, as if taunting him about it. Holden hands drop to his side, both arms shaking slightly, but the rest of his body stayed firm, his mouth twists into a smile, "You're already cheating Rex and this isn't the standard part of the program. I doubt Six would care if I used my powers at this point or not."

Rising into the air, the super powered adult spins like a top, blowing the fog out of the Cage.

"Finally," Rex cheers, a large grin plastered on his face as he watches Holden land in front of him, "It was about time you grew a pair and decided to break the rules. Now come at me bro."

Ignoring the insults, Holden dashes directly at Rex, his arm pulled back ready to strike. Forming the Smack Hands once more while on the run; the EVO Teen punches the spinning hand at the other boy. Missing each other's fists, the two punches connect with the others jaw, the force of the attacks toss the duo onto the ground.

"That's enough." An emotionless voice calls from a dark alcove and Six strolls out.

"Rex, rule breaking aside, you played the card I hoped you would," The man puts his arm out, pulling the EVO up, "Regardless, I won this bet, you taught Holden the lesson I wanted you to."

Glaring at the ninja with a swollen black eye, the EVO groans "Aww, come on Six, that's not fair! You used me!"

His own mentor conned him. That was his job and this annoyed Rex to no end!

"What was the exactly lesson I was supposed to learn?" Holden staggers to his feet, a trickle of blood dripped from his mouth.

"That sometimes to level the field of battle you have to throw the rules away. Tessa will not be fighting fair in the duel and you have to do what you can to survive so you can win," Six replies, turning around walking to Cricket, only to stop to turn his head, adding in one more thing. "Both of you go see Holiday since she is outside. Once you're fixed up, we're off to Providence."

The nanny ninja stoops down for a moment to pick up the female EVO and he leaves moments later with Skwydd. Holden and Rex follow suit, both limping and laughing as they go.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I would like to tribute this chapter to all the fusionfall players out there. This is due to the recent news that the game is being shut down for good. So this is to all of you! I'm not stopping at all in writing for fusionfall since I love to write for it. Anyway, see you all next chapter.


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